1. Staph Infection Slideshow Pictures
2. MRSA Slideshow Pictures
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Medical Author:

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Dr. Charles "Pat" Davis, MD, PhD, is a board certified Emergency Medicine doctor who currently practices as a consultant and staff member for hospitals. He has a PhD in Microbiology (UT at Austin), and the MD (Univ. Texas Medical Branch, Galveston). He is a Clinical Professor (retired) in the Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and has been the Chief of Emergency Medicine at UT Medical Branch and at UTHSCSA with over 250 publications.

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Medical Editor:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

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Plasmids, genetic elements that can be transferred from one bacterium to another, cause S. aureus to develop resistance to antibiotics. At least five types of genetic material (SCCmec genes I-V) have been identified. Hospital-acquired MRSA (HA-MRSA) usually have genes I-III while community-acquired MRSA (CA-MRSA) have genes IV-V. HA-MRSA is resistant to more antibiotics than CA-MRSA. These plasmids are strands of DNA, separate from the bacterial genome, which can self-replicate and frequently are responsible for the synthesis of compounds that cause antibiotic resistance in bacteria.

MRSA bacteria can be transmitted by direct (though skin and body fluids) and indirect contact (from towels, diapers, and toys) to uninfected people. Also, some individuals have MRSA on their body (on their skin or in their nose or throat) but show no symptoms of infection; these people are termed MRSA carriers (see above) and can transmit MRSA to others. Statistics show that CA-MRSA is the predominant MRSA type found in the population. Most carriers are best detected by culturing MRSA from nasal swabs.

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