MRSA Testing: Newer, Faster, Better

In Fight to Detect MRSA, New Tests and Techniques Challenge Labs

Methicillin is an antibiotic that was introduced to combat certain penicillin resistant bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus. Shortly afterwards a methicillin resistant strain of Staphylococcus aureus developed named MRSA. This is normally found in a hospital environment where people with lowered immune systems can pick up different strains of bacteria. In addition in the 1990's a strain of MRSA developed in people who were not associated with hospitals at all. This strain is called community acquired MRSA or CA-MRSA. 

MRSA Facts: 

• 95,000 cases of invasive MRSA infections occur annually in the U.S.

• MRSA causes 19,000 deaths each year

• 86 percent of MRSA infections are healthcare associated

• 14 percent of MRSA infections are due to community-acquired MRSA

• In 2012 it cost $3.2 billion to $4.2 billion to treat hospitalized MRSA patients

All this information is what laboratorians and researchers use to answer questions as to how to treat MRSA and how to stop its growth.


Setting up a System: One of the difficulties of MRSA is determining how to detect it. Some hospitals check every single patient they admit while others only check patients who are the most likely to acquire MRSA. In addition, different hospitals treat MRSA differently as well. The problem is that there is no surefire way to detect or treat MRSA so no one way is more correct that any other. New forms of detection are being implemented every day.

Detection: Last year, a British hospital utilized whole genome sequencing to halt a MRSA outbreak. This is the first time that DNA sequencing has been used in such a capacity. As technology advances these kind of practices can become more cost effective. There are many different tests that are conducted across the country to combat MRSA, each which provide answers in a couple of hours. Speed is your friend when working with MRSA because as soon as you can come back with a MRSA negative result you can start working on the actual problem that is facing your patient. Experts say that with continued developments on combating MRSA, a future strategy could involve a vaccine.

For more information and the full article follow the link provided.

http://bit.ly/10wGDvI

Written by Brandon Kassof