Super Bug Bites Back

Superbug Bites Back


Methicillin - Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus. The international superbug that has taken the lives of countless people all over the world. In Great Britain the number of deaths has doubled in numbers since 1999. But why is this happening? What is the cause?


The microscopic organism can be traced back to over fifty years ago and we can see how this almost incurable menace is the leading expert in acquiring resistance to our antibiotics. Not only is it able to adapt but it does so at an incredible rate that has left the medical masters dumbfounded and afraid that all to soon it might render the medicine cabinet empty.

The 17 known strands of MRSA have varying degrees of potency and immunity to the various antibiotics known. The most cogent of these are clones 15 and 16 and many agree on the fact that these two account for almost 96% of the bloodstream strains of MRSA, however in other countries they are thought to be a rare strain of the bug.

The reason behind the existence of this bug in the first place is simple. Survival of the Fittest is the first principle of evolution which is what has occurred in MRSA, which as a bacteria is incredibly good at it. The reason MRSA is s resistant is because so many different strains are being thrown together with so many doses of antibiotics, vastly accelerating this natural selection process.

This is why NHS and other hospital patients at higher risk than other people. Hospitals are the equivalent of a bacterial hot spot as there are so many bacteria in one place all becoming resistant to different antibiotics that it is easy to create a new bug that is immune, like MRSA. But this is not the only reason, the population in hospitals tends to be older, sicker, weaker than the general population making them much more susceptible to the infection. Another reason is because the general condition of hospitals, involving huge numbers of people, visitors as well as patients. Visitors touch patients after being around other people and this passes on bacteria. Doctors and nurses will go from patient to patient, examining them and therefore passing on bacteria. This is the perfect environment for infections like MRSA to be passed on from person to person with absolutely no problem.

This is the reason why the sanitation of hospitals is vital. If the hospital is not clean then the patients are especially vulnerable to this life threatening Super bug. This bug which holds the mecA gene allowing it to mutate quickly, can kill within a very short time, attacking medical wounds and the eyes, skin and blood. It also can appear like a flu, making you feverish and tired. This is not the only worry, however.

The super bug, VRSA, vancomycin resistant Staphylococcus Aureus, has aquired resistance to the only drug that in the past has always worked on MRSA. It is rare still but the strain is growing and could soon spread into UK hospitals. The other concern is the half way point, GISA, glycopeptide intermediate Staphyloccus aureus which is even more resistant to antibiotics of the vancomycin variety.

Despite everything many experts believe that despite the constant production of antibiotics there may soon be nothing that can help people suffering from the illness as nothing will effect the bug.