infections
Staphylococcus aureus Infections
Methicillin resistantStaphylococcus aureus(MRSA)
Because antibiotics are widely used in hospitals, hospital staff members commonly carry resistant strains. When people are infected in a health care facility, the bacteria are usually resistant to several types of antibiotics, including almost all antibiotics that are related to penicillin (called Penicillins ). Strains of bacteria that are resistant to almost all beta-lactam antibiotics are called methicillin-resistant MRSA strains are common when infection is acquired in a health care facility (called hospital-acquired infection). Some strains of MRSA cause infections that are acquired outside of a health care facility (called community-acquired infection), including mild abscesses and skin infections. The number of these community-acquired infections is increasing. Staphylococcal infections may be difficult to treat because many of the bacteria have developed resistance to antibiotics. 