1. Mobius Disease Project 2012
MRSA
Team JMRN
Jacob Couture, Matthew Downey, Rhiannon Reeder,
Nick Seminerio

2. Table of Contents
• What is MRSA ?
• Demographics and Impact
• Presentation and Manifestation
• Symptoms and Diagnostics
• Human Body Interaction
• Prevention and Cure
• Questions
• References

3. What is MRSA?
• MRSA – stands for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus
• A mutation of Staphylococcus aureus or better known as staph
• MRSA often results from over use of antibiotics, which are prescribed for initial
infections and infection becomes mutated.
• Discovered in UK in 1961
• MRSA evolved from Staphylococcus aureus, which evolved from Staphylococcus,
which evolved from Staphylococcaceae, which evolved from Bacillales.
• Most animals, including pets, are at risk for getting MRSA and are also at risk of
being carriers of Staphylococcus aureus. Even inanimate objects can be 'carriers’.

4. Demographics and Impact
• Until the late 1970's, MRSA was primarily an issue in hospitals and nursing homes.
Now MRSA predominantly presents in areas with poor hygiene (source #5)
• MRSA is also becoming more prevalent in areas like parks and playgrounds
because children at play are constantly scraping themselves, providing MRSA with
a ripe opportunity to infect.
• MRSA is more often contracted by those who already possess a comprised
immune system
• This is part of the reason why hospitals and nursing homes are primary spots for
MRSA to spread
• MRSA is found in 70% of people who have a common staph infection, and 19,000
people per year are dying from staph, which makes MRSA responsible for about
13,300 deaths per year. (source # 5)

5. Presentation and Manifestation
• MRSA is acute; it has a relatively rapid progression and requires
treatment.
• However, MRSA can cause a long-lasting wound that could be considered
chronic (Source #1)
• In order to catch an ordinary staph infection one must expose an open
wound to common bacteria, and MRSA infects in much the same manner.
(Source #4)
• MRSA is easiest to catch in areas that it is prevalent, such as hospitals or
nursing homes where there are people with weak immune systems.
(Source #4)

6. Symptoms
• MRSA can cause an infection of the skin and underlying fats, which is
known as cellulitis. It presents first as a series of small red bumps.
• MRSA also causes boils, abscesses, styes, carbuncles, and impetigo.
• Other symptoms of MRSA include a lack of appetite, sleepiness, and some
other flu-like symptoms. (Source #9)

7. Diagnostics
• A doctor will take a full patient history and examine for recent skin
changes
• A sample of skin, blood, or urine will be taken and sent to a lab to be
tested for MRSA.
• As cases are becoming more frequent, doctors are now pretty quick to
diagnose (see graph) (source #3)
• Some doctors mistake MRSA for a common staph infection, then proceed
to try to treat it with antibiotics that it is already resistant to, causing
further problems. (Source #6)

8. Human body interaction
• The bacteria starts by colonizing the patient's nostrils, and it will then
take hold of open wounds before moving on to other tissue
• This then continues to progress towards the aforementioned symptoms
(boils, abscesses, stys, carbuncles, and impetigo)
• MRSA (if left untreated) then continues towards serious symptoms, such
as necrotizing pneumonia (lethal is 75% of cases) (source #1)
• Can even start shutting down organs, which can also lead to death.
(Source #1)

9. Prevention and Cure
• MRSA currently has no vaccine, though there were some (unsuccessful)
efforts to develope one.
• Sometimes treatment involves draining of skin infections or small
surgeries, but MRSA usually can be cured with certain antibiotics. (Source
#4)
• Antibiotics that have been found effective against MRSA include
teicoplanin and vancomycin (source #1)
• There seems to be no cure for MRSA using stem cells in the future. Cure
for MRSA will be discovered through advanced antibiotics
• One of the alternative remedies for MRSA is Manuka Honey, which is
collected from the tea tree bush in New Zealand (for skin-related
infections).

10. Questions
Q. Can a high risk for your disease be passed down genetically?
• No, MRSA cannot be passed down genetically. Genetics do play a part, however, since MRSA
is an infection, and one's ability to fight off infection is partially genetic, genetics can increase
one's chances of fighting off MRSA. (Source #2)
Q. How can one prevent MRSA infections?
• MRSA and other staph infections can be prevented by keeping your hands clean, keeping
cuts and scrapes covered with a bandage until healed, avoiding contact with other people's
wounds, and by not sharing personal items such as towels or razors
Q. Can MRSA cause other diseases?
A. Yes, MRSA is not only an infection, but one that can compromise the immune system and
cause other serious diseases such as necrotizing pneumonia. (Source #3)

11. (Source #1)
References
CDC - MRSA Treatment | MRSA Infections. (2010, August 3). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved February 14, 2012, from
http://www.cdc.gov/mrsa/treatment/ index.html.
Provided information about the disease and how it has affected society over the years. Additionally, the source refers to possible treatments and
future possibilities for a vaccine. A good overview of the disease is provided.
(Source #2)
Dietrich, D., & Auld, D. (2004, April). Community-Acquired Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Southern New England Children. Health
Source - Consumer Edition, 133. Retrieved February 27, 2012, from the EBSCO host database.
This source effectively explains the spread of MRSA and how quickly it can be exchanged from person to person. It also provides possible
treatments, as well as ways in which to avoid the possibility of being infected with the disease. It does not, however, provides a detailed
background or overview of the disease.
(Source #3)
Dugdale, D. (2011, June 9). MRSA. National Center for Biotechnology Information. Retrieved February 14, 2012, from
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/.
This source offers a detail-rich description and overview of the disease MRSA, including information on the virus and how it affects cells to create
symptoms. Although it gives a description of the variety of the symptoms caused by the disease and possible treatments, it does not talk about
the possible vaccines that may be present in the future.
(Source #4)
McKenna, M. (2012, February 2). Vaccine development: Man vs. MRSA. Nature Publishing Group, 482, 23-25. Retrieved February 27, 2012, from the
EBSCO host database.
This article addresses the possible creation of a vaccine for MRSA. This was helpful and insightful, since it was one of the only sources to actually
go in-depth about searching for a vaccine. Additionally, the article provides information about how a vaccine would work in order to fight off the
virus and its effect on society.
(Source #5)
Sheen, B. (2010). MRSA. Detroit, Michigan: Lucent Books.
This book provides details about the origin of the disease, how the disease affects the body in terms of spreading and symptoms, as well as a
multitude of other information on MRSA. This source was very helpful as the detail it provides helps the reader understand more about the
disease and future prevention.
(Source #6)
Shetty, N., Tang, J. W., & Andrews, J. (2009). Infectious disease: pathogenesis, prevention, and case studies. Chichester, UK: Wiley-Blackwell.
This source provides an in-depth analysis as to what causes the reactions of MRSA on one’s body, including symptoms. Like most of the other
sources, it successfully describes the disease with an overview that includes symptoms, treatments, and possible vaccines in the future.