Fernanda Milans del Bosch, María Montilla, Sofía Morales and José Alfonso Moreno
September 14th 2018
Staphylococcus epidermidis, a naturally harmless bacterium found on human skin, can cause similar infections to deadly MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), including fever, chills, rashes, severe headaches, chest pain, and most importantly, tedious red bumps full of pus. Hence why this microorganism is extremely contagious through physical contact, especially among elderly or immunocomprised people constantly exposed to potentially infected medical equipment (such as urinary cathethers).
However, this is not the reason for its uncontrollable spread. Its escalation is due to great antibiotic resistance caused by small DNA alterations. It is resistant to two of the most common antibiotics often administered (rifampicin and vancomycin) to treat skin hospital infections, making this deadly bacteria infection almost impossible to eradicate. Being unrelated antibiotics, specialists’ attention has been drawn, since one mutation is not expected to cause both to fail.
Researchers believe this rapid spread in hospitals is a result of the particularly high use of antibiotics in intensive care units, highlighting that the excessive use of antibiotics is driving more drug-resistant bacteria strains, contributing to one of the biggest dangers to hospital care worldwide.
Keywords: #MRSA #antibioticresistance #antibiotics
Popescu, S.V. (2018). The Rise of Resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis. Contagion live. www.contagionlive.com. Last visit: 25thSeptember 2018.
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