Antibiotic-Resistant Disease - MRSA

For more than a decade, Dr. Zachary Lutsky worked as an emergency physician at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. As a medical professional, Dr. Zachary Lutsky has concerns regarding antibiotic-resistant diseases, one of the best-known of which is methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

MRSA causes infections in various parts of the body and occurs when certain strains of staphylococcus aureus (staph) infect the body. Unlike typical staph infections, MRSA resists commonly-used antibiotics, making it more difficult to treat. Since it was first discovered in 1961, this bacterium has developed resistance to most common antibiotics, and regularly develops new resistances. About one in 50 people carry the disease, though most lack infections.

While MRSA most commonly occurs in hospitals, which may contain many immunocompromised patients who spread the disease, it can also occur in otherwise healthy people outside of hospitals. These infections often occur when large numbers of people congregate in close quarters regularly, such as athletes, military personnel, and prison inmates. Those in these categories should take care to have any strange bumps, sores, or infections assessed by a medical professional.