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| MRSA Policy |
| Written by The Infection Control Team | ||||
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Certain strains of Staphylococcus aureus have developed resistance to the more commonly used antibiotics, e.g. penicillin and flucloxacillin. These are now referred to as MRSA (Meticillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus) as meticillin is used to test for resistance to flucloxacillin. Concern about the transmission of MRSA is related to the potential spread of this organism in hospital and the limited number of antibiotics available to treat infections caused by MRSA. MRSA can infect or colonise damaged skin, e.g. wounds, ulcers, cannula sites or abnormal skin, e.g. eczema, dermatitis and psoriasis. It can also cause more serious infections such as septicaemia, (mortality 60%) endocarditis, pneumonia and osteomyelitis. Healthy people are not normally affected but may carry the organism in their nose or on their skin. Although healthy people can suffer skin infections such as boils from Staphylococcus aureus, there is no evidence that MRSA poses a significant risk to health care workers and their families. The policy’s aim is to direct the correct management of patients colonised or infected with MRSA to prevent spread of the organism.
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| Last Updated ( Tuesday, 27 July 2010 08:16 ) |
