MRSA In Blood
MRSA in the blood system and MRSA in the bloodstream symptoms are two topics people often seek information about. Before we dive in to those topics let's first examine just what MRSA is.
Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus is a bacterial infection resistant to antibiotic methicillin. Staphylococcus aureus, sometimes referred to as "staph," or "staph A" is a common bacterium found on the skin of healthy people. If staph gets into the body it can cause a minor infection such as boils or pimples or serious infections such as pneumonia or blood infections.
One antibiotic commonly used to treat staph infections is methicillin. While methicillin is very effective in treating most staph infections, some staph bacteria have developed a resistance to methicillin and can no longer be killed by this antibiotic. The resistant bacteria are called methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus or MRSA.
When MRSA gets into the bloodstream it is called bacteraemia, which simply refers to the presence of the bacteria in the blood system. This can lead to septacemia which is a life threatening condition and should be treated immediately.
There is a new MRSA blood test to detect MRSA in blood. The new MRSA test uses molecular methods to identify whether or not a blood sample contains genetic material from the MRSA bacterium or from more common and less dangerous staph bacteria that can still be treated with the antibiotic methicillin.
The FDA cleared the BD GeneOhm test based on the results of a clinical trial in which the test identified one hundred percent of MRSA-positive specimens & more than ninety-eight percent of more common, less dangerous staph specimens.
The FDA cautions that the new MRSA in blood test should be used only in patients suspected of a staph infection, not to monitor treatment of staph infections.
The MRSA blood test, which shouldn't be used as the sole basis for MRSA diagnosis, does not rule out other complicating conditions or infections.
If you have any more questions about MRSA in the blood system please consult your doctor. A good resource for MRSA in the bloodstream symptoms can be found at this link - MRSA Symptoms
And this is a great reference for MRSA Treatment.
could this be contatious?