By:Mac Simonson &Becky Nelson

•MRSA was discovered in 1961 in the UK, but didn’t appear in the US until 1981.

•In 2005, the number of cases treated in the US was 368,600.

•Almost 19,000 of those were fatal.

• MRSA is resistant to the most common antibiotics used for staphylococcus infections, known as beta-lactam drugs. These include penicillin, cephalexin, methicillin, and nafcillin.

• The staph bacteria is present in 25%- 30% of the US population at any given time, not always causing infection. Only 1%, however, have MRSA.

• When the staph bacteria does cause an infection, it usually occurs as a boil on the skin, which can be treated with antibiotics. However, it can become much more serious if it enters the body, and can cause bloodstream infections, surgical wound infections, and pneumonia.

• MRSA and other staph infections most often occur in hospitals and nursing homes, among people with weakened immune systems.

• The most visible signs are swollen, red, pus filled and painful boils. It spreads through open wounds, as well as direct skin contact and IV sites.

•MRSA is treated with a wide spectrum of antibiotics, however this is not always effective.•MRSA is almost always fatal when it enters the bloodstream.•If antibiotics are not working, then amputation is the only way to prevent the infection from spreading through the rest of the body.

Wikipedia -January 2009 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MRSACenters for Disease Control– January 2009- http://www.cdc.gov/Google Images – January 2009- http://images.google.com/imghp?hl=en&tab=wiMayo Clinic – January 2009- http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/mrsa/DS00735Web MD - January 2009- http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/methicillin-resistant-staphylococcus-aureus-mrsa-overview