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MRSA – The Super Bug - Causes


Causes

The most common causes of MRSA infection are listed below-

  • Contact through infected people - “Carriers” of Staph is quite common, One third of the general population carry Staph bacteria inside their nose or on their skin of these approximately 1% is colonized with MRSA. These “colonized” people may be healthy but they can pass on the bacteria to others who are more susceptible, who may in turn become infected. Sharing equipments - In the past several years, serious infections have been occurring in otherwise healthy people in the community, for example, athletes who share equipments or personal items.
  • Overuse of antibiotics –Unnecessary or excessive usage of antibiotics, such as using antibiotics for minor illnesses such as cold or viral infections, has lead to the genesis and survival of MRSA.
  • Other sources of Antibiotics -Antibiotics are found in livestock besides being found in food and water due to run offs.
  • Mutations -Survival tactics of bacteria involves gene mutation and this has been their mainstay against the various antibiotics that are churned out against them.

Antibiotics Limitations- Antibiotics have their own limitations, as they cannot completely wipe out the bacteria that they are meant to target. This in turn gives rise to a population of bacteria that is resistant with time to different kinds of antibiotics.

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