MRSA Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about MRSA, including details on methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, hospitals, infection, antibiotic resistance, superbugs.

Recommended Books on MRSA

MRSA in Practice (In Practice Series) Aimed at junior hospital doctors and general practitioners, the "In Practice" series has been devised by RSM Press to present cutting-edge and clear-cut opinion leader advice and summary acts related to every day clinical practice. Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) is a type of bacteria located in the nose and/or on the skin. As a lot of antibiotics are ineffective against this infection this issue is a major source of concern in modern day hospitals. Everyone based in a hospital environment or involved in hospital based medicine or should be aware of its impact and the action which should be taken to control it. This comprehensive guide tells the medical practitioner everything they need to know about MRSA. Some of the topics covered include: Historical perspectives - Ian Phillips (London); Antibiotic resistance in MRSA - Giles Edwards (Glasgow); Evolution of MRSA - Mark Enright (London University); Epidemiology of MRSA - Vuopia-Varkila (Finland); Surveillance Control in the Community - Georgia Duckworth (London) and Hans Kolmos (Denmark); Treatment of MRSA - Ian Gould (Aberdeen); Decolonisation of MRSA patient - A Seaton (Glasgow); Laboratory aspects - Donald Morrison (Glasgow); Alternative treatments - Tom Riley (Perth, Australia); Mopping up MRSA - Stephanie Dancer (Glasgow); and Guidance to control MRSA from the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh - D Baird (Glasgow). With its easily accessible approach, broken down into easy-to read chapters, the tips and useful advice of this text makes this a key text for all hospital practitioners. Hence, "MRSA in Practice" is a book that no health care professional can afford to be without.

The ''hospital superbug'': Social representations of MRSA [An article from: Social Science & Medicine] This digital document is a journal article from Social Science & Medicine, published by Elsevier in 2006. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
The so-called 'hospital superbug' methcillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) became a topic of media and political concern in Britain from the middle of the 1990s. It was increasingly politicised in the period leading up to the British General Election of 2005. This study examines the meanings of MRSA that circulate in Britain by analysing newspaper coverage of the disease over the 10-year period 1995-2005. It utilises social representations theory and contextualises MRSA within existing research on representations of emerging infectious diseases (EIDs). A key pattern in the representation of EIDs is to externalise the threat they pose by linking the origin, risk and blame to 'the other' of those who represent them. It is in this light that this study investigates who and what MRSA is associated with and the impact that these associations have on levels of alarm and blame. Key findings are that MRSA is represented as a potentially lethal 'superbug', marking the end of a 'golden age of medicine' in which the story of the discovery of antibiotics has played such a key role. Furthermore, MRSA is constructed around an ''it could be you/me'' set of assumptions by way of the plethora of human interest stories that dominate the coverage. Finally, the blame for MRSA focuses not on its genesis, but rather on why it spreads. This is attributed to poor hygiene in hospitals, which is ultimately caused by mismanagement of the National Health Service and erosion of the authority and morality symbolised by the 'matron' role. This constellation of meanings informs a somewhat different pattern of response to MRSA when compared to many past EIDs.

MRSA and Staphylococcal Infections, Second Edition Despite the large amount of information available through books, Internet sites, and libraries, more and more people with staphylococcal and MRSA infections present to their primary care physicians offices, urgent care centers, and emergency rooms. The disease seems to continue to spread. Most people with a history of MRSA colonization get a reassuring answer when they ask about their contagiousness. The plain truth is that you are potentially contagious. In order to understand the magnitude of this epidemic and to realize how the appearance of MRSA has and will influence our lives and our culture, consider the classic handshake. The handshake will never again be the same after MRSA. The information presented in this book is intended to provide a general understanding of MRSA and Staphylococcal infections.

Hospital Infection: From Miasmas to MRSA The continuing battle to control hospital infections has ranged from the earliest days of hospital care when bad air or miasma was thought to be the cause, to the present day emergence of antibiotic-resistant "superbugs" such as MRSA and necrotizing fasciitis. This social history of hospital care surveys the rise, fall and re-emergence of new nosocomial infections and documents the development of medical microbiology and infection control.

Possible risk for re-colonization with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) by faecal transmission [An article from: International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health] This digital document is a journal article from International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health, published by Elsevier in . The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
An increase in the frequency of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) as an important causative agent of nosocomial infections is observed worldwide. Unfortunately, in spite of optimal hygienic conditions (barrier isolation, screening, decontamination), patients often remain MRSA positive or are detected as ''re-colonized'' at re-admission. The objective of our study was to clarify if this is due to an undetected colonization of the gastrointestinal tract, which could possibly lead to re-colonization after primary successful decontamination. Therefore, all MRSA strains were collected from 290 in-patients of a university hospital over a period of 2 years. A surprisingly high number (24.1% of all) was isolated from stool samples. Even 13.1% of the total collection could be first observed in this material before detecting MRSA in other materials of these patients. To evaluate the epidemiology of these isolates, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) was used. On the basis of PFGE restriction types one main clone and 11 singular clones could be identified. Additionally, for six individual patients MRSA isolates from stool specimens were indistinguishable from other isolates from different locations. We show here that colonization of the gastrointestinal tract with MRSA apparently could play an important role in spreading MRSA via faecal contamination. Hence, we suggest that stool colonization with MRSA could be the source of a so far unrecognized transmission of MRSA within individual patients and within the population. Therefore, our findings imply a modification in the hygienic strategies for handling decontamination and therapy of MRSA patients.

MRSA-Killer Bug. What you need to know to protect yourself. This is a concise, authoritative and timely book which explains the recent increase in Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections in the US and around the world. It is a great resource for understanding the symptoms, transmission, treatment and prevention of these infections. Healthcare providers and patients alike will find it extremely useful and informative.

MRSA - Spider Bites: The Flesh-Eating Bacterial Epidemic That Threatens America This is a work of fiction on an important contemporary medical topic. It relates the vicissitudes of three persons suddenly stricken by virulent infections with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). John, Britney and Peter had an initial skin lesion very similar to a 'spider bite.' They realized later that it was not a spider but an aggressive bacterium responsible for causing the lesion. This book gives you the details of their hospitalization and subsequent survival or demise. This book is also a narrative about the potential public health crisis of community-acquired MRSA infections. These infections sometimes evolve to become a 'flesh-eating' illness. Often presenting as 'spider bite' lesions, the current epidemic is occurring in a silent and dangerous manner. Important measures to curb community-acquired MRSA infections probably rely in increased public awareness and simple hygiene measures such as hand washing and the use of soap.

MRSA and Staphylococcal Infections We are witnessing a worldwide increase in infections with Staphylococcus aureus, commonly called S. aureus, or simply "Staph." Many of these infections are due to invasive strains of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). People not involved in a healthcare setting are often not aware of this silent epidemic. This lack of awareness includes the significance and danger of "community-acquired" MRSA infections and their potential threat to the healthcare system. The contents of this book are geared to the reader who does not have a medical or healthcare industry background. The information presented is intended to provide a general understanding about Staph infections. In order to curb the worldwide menace of Staph and MRSA infections, a significant behavioral change is needed. A well-informed public is essential for this behavioral change to occur. This book is formatted in large print for the visually-impaired reader. Eighteen color photographs of Staph and MRSA infections are shown.

License To Kill Tom only wanted to be free of the pain in his knee. But what followed his surgery was a tragedy. His widow was compelled to write the details of her family's struggle in an effort to warn others of the terrible consequences of staph infection, as well as the mistakes that were made in his treatment.

Superbugs and Superdrugs: A History of MRSA ([Wellcome Witnesses to Twentieth Century Medicine]) Because of its unique adaptability and resistance to many antibacterial drugs and antiseptics, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a nosocomial menace of the present day. It has invaded medical and surgical wards in hospitals, infecting patients already ill or recovering, and endangering clean surgical operations, encouraged by overcrowding and limited air circulation. It has now spread from hospitals to families and communities. Infection control microbiologists and the Public Health Laboratory Service developed assays, 'phage typing and other tests to identify strains, with better understanding of their behaviour aided by the discovery of the mecA gene. This Seminar addressed the biological reasons for this behaviour; the difference between resistant and non-resistant strains; the development, evolution and elucidation of drug resistance in hospital infection and its geographical distribution. Suggested by Professor Gordon Stewart and chaired by Dr Robert Bud, surgeons, microbiologists, infection control experts and representatives of the pharmaceutical industry and of the public included: Professor Graham Ayliffe, Professor Mark Casewell, Dr Bilwanath Chattopadhyay, Dr Stephanie Dancer, Dr Bernard Dixon, Dr Georgia Duckworth, Professor Brian Duerden, Professor Michael Emmerson, Professor Gary French, Professor Curtis Gemmell, Professor Alan Glynn, Dr Ian Gould, Professor David Greenwood, Professor Jeremy Hamilton-Miller, Dr Angela Kearns, Dr Bill Newsom, Professor Ian Phillips, Dr Tyrone Pitt, Dr Elizabeth Price, Professor Sir Mark Richmond, Dr Geoffrey Scott, Dr Joe Selkon, Dr David Shanson, Dr Norman Simmons, Professor Dale Smith, Professor Brian Spratt, Dr Robert Sutherland, Professor John West.

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