What is MRSA, and why is it sometimes referred to as a “superbug”?
MRSA in hospitals. MRSA infection is caused by Staphylococcus aureus bacteria — often called “staph.” Many years ago, a strain of staph emerged in hospitals that was resistant to the broad-spectrum antibiotics commonly used to treat it. Dubbed methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), it has been called a “superbug” by the media because of its multiple drug resistance. MRSA can cause serious, sometimes fatal, infections that resist treatment with all but a few drugs — for example, vancomycin, linezolid or daptomycin. Some extremely rare strains of MRSA that are resistant even to vancomycin are starting to turn up in some hospitals. MRSA in the community. In the 1990s, a type of MRSA began showing up outside hospital settings — in the wider community. These strains aren’t the same as those associated with health care settings and hospitals. Today, these forms of staph, known as community-associated MRSA, or CA-MRSA, are responsible for many serious skin and soft tissue infecti
