The Situation - A Deadly Superbug Called MRSA

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) is a virulent, mutating microbe that has become pervasive throughout the U.S. and the world in recent years, the result of the excessive use of antibiotics in treating infections. The MRSA problem has been making headlines internationally, with new strains appearing regularly and no true solution in sight.

It all began with the accidental discovery of penicillin in 1928 after mold had grown on a Petri dish, and was shown to inhibit the growth of bacteria. By 1941, Pfizer had developed a way to mass-produce antibiotics to combat infection, and by the mid-1950s, the first infectious microbes had evolved and mutated to become antibiotic-resistant. In 1961, with the advent of a new drug called Methicillin, a newly mutated microbe was discovered and dubbed Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA).

By the mid 1980s, antibiotics were being used en masse as a panacea for many ills, over-prescribed many times as a precaution, and for uses such as acne and other rashes. MRSA had by this time spread to hospitals all over the globe. From 1995 through 2005, MRSA infections doubled in U.S. hospitals

The MRSA situation has grown into a pandemic since the late 1990s, spreading from hospital environments into the public community. From 1995 through 2005, MRSA became known as a Super Bug as infections doubled in U.S hospitals.

In 2008, 2,000,000 people will check into a U.S. hospital and contract an infection during their stay, and almost 100,000 of these patients will die. 100,000 of these overall infections will be identified as MRSA, and close to 20,000 or 20% will be fatal cases. Hospitals have been called the most dangerous places to visit. It is widely believed that MRSA infections are massively under-reported or misreported due to the stigma involving poor hygienic practices. There is legislation presently being proposed to demand proper reporting procedures.

In the past 18-24 months, the MRSA Super Bug has migrated into the community appearing in schools, health clubs, nursing homes, and gymnasiums. MRSA was once known to kill only those with weak and feeble immune systems, but as it has migrated, it has also continued to mutate – and is now invading and killing healthy adults and teenagers. In October 2007, 21 Virginia schools were closed after a MRSA outbreak resulted in the death of a healthy 17 year-old. Many other student infections and deaths have been reported across the United States. In 2007, deaths from MRSA outstripped AIDS and many other well-known diseases. The nations prisons have also been a hotbed of MRSA activity, with an explosive growth of the pandemic, resultant of the drug use and hygienic practices of the inmates.

As of 2007, 2.5 million Americans are now carriers of MRSA – with colonies of the dangerous bug nesting within their nasal passages. It is estimated that over 53 million of the world’s inhabitants are now carriers – with no sign of relief in sight.