MRSA testing Costa Mesa tests for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). These are strains of staph or staphylococcus aureus bacteria that have a resistance to the antibiotic methicillin and to related beta-lactam antibiotics such as penicillin, oxacillin, cephalosporins, and amoxicillin, that are used to treat staph infections. MRSA testing is usually done to detect the presence of MRSA in the sample of a patient.
Staphylococcus aureus is known to colonize the human skin. It is present in the nose of about a third of adults in the US. It doesn’t cause any symptoms or illness. However, if there is a break in a person’s skin from surgery or a wound, or if the immune system of someone is weakened then staphylococcus aureus can cause an infection.
Over the past several decades, antibiotics have been widely used and this has led to the development of strains of S. aureus that are resistant to antibiotics. Infection with these resistant strains can cause several skin infections and some of these infections are more severe and even life-threatening infections such as bloodstream infections, pneumonia or infections at a surgical site.
However, less than 2% of people across the world carry this type of bacteria known as MRSA. MRSA can spread in the community and healthcare settings. Contaminated medical equipment, hands, surfaces in places such as clinics, hospitals, or nursing homes may allow the spread of this bacteria from infected or colonized patients and that is why environmental testing labs are necessary.
In the community, anything that allows skin-to-skin contact can easily spread MRSA. This may include sharing personal care items, working or living in close contact with others, and participating in contact sports.
Most healthcare facilities have instituted measures to try and eradicate MRSA and to control the spread of this bacteria from one person to the other. People who test positive for this bacterium may be isolated to prevent further spread to other people or/and decolonized with a nasal antibiotic ointment and cleansing with special antimicrobial wipes.
How to control and implement MRSA screening in hospitals remains controversial. A study was done in 2014 comparing prevention infections strategies found that treating to get rid of MRSA from the intensive care unit patients who screen positive wasn’t an effective way of reducing these infections as treating patients admitted to the ICU. The treatment may involve administering antibiotics within the nose and using a special antimicrobial wipe to cleanse patients. This has resulted in hospital policies changing and less MRSA screening being performed in hospital settings.
Application
MRSA test is used in hospitals especially in ICU and on community-level, the screening may be used to determine the source of an outbreak. Additional testing may show clinicians on a national level and researchers about the genetic features of strains of MRSA that circulate in healthcare and community setting.
Some hospitals perform MRSA testing in Costa Mesa by screening patients they feel are at a high risk of being infected or colonized with resistant bacteria or all-new hospital admissions.
