A superbug gets its power from the ability to mutate. Developing resistance to common antibiotics. A long-standing concern for hospitals and nursing homes, drug resistant MRSA can cause pneumonia and bloodstream infections.

“Nowadays there’s a lot of vigilance about hospital-acquired infection. So hospitals are paying a lot of attention in making sure that people who come to our hospital to get better, we don’t give them an infection,” says Dr. Pranav Shah, an infectious disease specialist with Lee Memorial Health System.

Starting in the late 80s, MRSA hit the community at-large. Causing skin infections, some of them life-threatening. Spread through skin-to-skin contact, athletes and people living in close quarters were most at risk.

“The first outbreak of MRSA was in a NFL football team where they got MRSA because they were sharing in the locker room. And then it came through to the regular population as well,” says Dr. Shah.

From hospitals to homes, MRSA is still adapting. Studies find it now taking up residence in private homes. The CDC estimates 2 in every 100 people are colonized with MRSA, without sickness. As smart as this bug is-m preventing its spread is relatively simple.

“The best thing you can do is hand washing. Hand washing, hand washing, hand washing. That’s all, that’s the best way of preventing you from getting MRSA infection,” says Dr. Shah.

Cleanliness, both careful cleaning and covering open cuts, should keep a damaging bug at arm’s length.

View More Health Matters video segments at leememorial.org/healthmatters/

Lee Memorial Health System in Fort Myers, FL is the largest network of medical care facilities in Southwest Florida and is highly respected for its expertise, innovation and quality of care. For nearly a century, we’ve been providing our community with everything from primary care treatment to highly specialized care services and robotic assisted surgeries.

Visit leememorial.org

Email This Post Email This Post