# MRSA how bad is it and how did it get into the community? (Staph) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 31, 2020, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mrsa-how-bad-is-it-and-how-did-it-get-into-the-community-staph/854771 "2020-05-31T03:27:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![No\_Wikipedia\_Cites](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@No\_Wikipedia\_Cites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_Wikipedia_Cites)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2020, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mrsa-how-bad-is-it-and-how-did-it-get-into-the-community-staph/854771/1 "2020-05-31T03:27:53Z")
The info on MRSA (Staph Infections) says it was once from institutional settings but now is in the community and even at some beaches. How could that happen? If a hospital patient acquires it wouldn’t it be spotted in the hospital before discharging the patient? I can see a fluke case happening but it appears to be a big thing now, how could it spread so well outside of institutions? Also it appears there are several antibiotics still effective; will these eventually be outmanuevered by natural selection of MRSA and eventually MRSA will be “unstoppable”? With the other Pandemic we don’t hear about other health threats much. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2020, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mrsa-how-bad-is-it-and-how-did-it-get-into-the-community-staph/854771/2 "2020-05-31T03:50:11Z")
Most of us probably have MRSA colonization in and on our skin and nostrils. For most people, it’s relatively harmless, but if a person has an immune deficiency (and believe me, you can have one without knowing it) it can get into other areas of the body, with disastrous consequences. It’s also a big problem in institutions of any kind, from prisons to nursing homes. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2020, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mrsa-how-bad-is-it-and-how-did-it-get-into-the-community-staph/854771/3 "2020-05-31T05:51:24Z")
> [@No\_Wikipedia\_Cites](#): > > Also it appears there are several antibiotics still effective; will these eventually be outmanuevered by natural selection of MRSA and eventually MRSA will be “unstoppable”? That was the case with infections all thru human history – either your body was able to fight it off, or you died. That only ended with the discovery of antibiotics, about a hundred years ago. It’s possible that future generations may look back with envy on this time, remembering it as ‘the time when infections could be cured’. ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2020, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mrsa-how-bad-is-it-and-how-did-it-get-into-the-community-staph/854771/4 "2020-05-31T06:27:28Z")
My Dad got a MRSA infection in his foot two and a half years ago and has been through the ringer: Wound Vac, special silver dressings, debridement, antibiotics, surgery to the area. Though he no longer has an active infection, his foot has still not completely healed. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2020, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mrsa-how-bad-is-it-and-how-did-it-get-into-the-community-staph/854771/5 "2020-05-31T07:25:25Z")
> [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](#): > > That was the case with infections all thru human history – either your body was able to fight it off, or you died. That only ended with the discovery of antibiotics, about a hundred years ago. It’s possible that future generations may look back with envy on this time, remembering it as ‘the time when infections could be cured’. I recall reading an article once, about how much easier modern life has become. How what were once tremendous difficulties are now routinely overcome. The author mentioned that, as recently as the early twentieth century, a man’s wife could cut her finger preparing dinner and within a short while he could be a widower. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2020, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mrsa-how-bad-is-it-and-how-did-it-get-into-the-community-staph/854771/6 "2020-05-31T08:47:34Z")
> [@No\_Wikipedia\_Cites](#): > > The info on MRSA (Staph Infections) says it was once from institutional settings but now is in the community and even at some beaches. > > How could that happen? If a hospital patient acquires it wouldn’t it be spotted in the hospital before discharging the patient? Probably. But if a healthy visitor or health care worker or other hospital employee picked it up they might inadvertently spread it. Not everyone exposed to MSRA gets an infection, or even a severe infection. > [@No\_Wikipedia\_Cites](#): > > I can see a fluke case happening but it appears to be a big thing now, how could it spread so well outside of institutions? That’s what bacteria _do_ - they multiply, spread, and adapt to do more of the same. > [@No\_Wikipedia\_Cites](#): > > Also it appears there are several antibiotics still effective; will these eventually be outmanuevered by natural selection of MRSA and eventually MRSA will be “unstoppable”? Yep, it’s possible. That’s why doctors go on and on about stopping improper use of antibiotics and using them properly when they are needed. > [@No\_Wikipedia\_Cites](#): > > With the other Pandemic we don’t hear about other health threats much. True, but they’re all still happening. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2020, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mrsa-how-bad-is-it-and-how-did-it-get-into-the-community-staph/854771/7 "2020-05-31T09:11:47Z")
> [@No\_Wikipedia\_Cites](#): > > Also it appears there are several antibiotics still effective; will these eventually be outmanuevered by natural selection of MRSA and eventually MRSA will be “unstoppable”? With the other Pandemic we don’t hear about other health threats much. I am not sure of the state of the art, but have certainly heard of MRSA, VRSA, TRSA, ORSA and others, proving that staphylococci are adaptable to these types of antibiotics. Sure, it’s a public health problem and has the potential to kill you. Don’t forget to wash your hands! ---
**Author:** ![sbright33](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e8cbc/32.png) [@sbright33](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sbright33)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2020, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mrsa-how-bad-is-it-and-how-did-it-get-into-the-community-staph/854771/8 "2020-05-31T10:21:34Z")
I got it from the ocean. Horrible disease. Lasted for years in my body. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2020, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mrsa-how-bad-is-it-and-how-did-it-get-into-the-community-staph/854771/9 "2020-06-01T03:00:58Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Yep, it’s possible. That’s why doctors go on and on about stopping improper use of antibiotics and using them properly when they are needed. The biggest misuse of antibiotics, at least in this country, is in livestock. Giving them to animals if they have an infection is appropriate. Giving near-homeopathic doses of tetracycline to chickens so they will grow faster (which has been done for many years) is not, as an example. ---
**Author:** ![No\_Wikipedia\_Cites](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@No\_Wikipedia\_Cites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_Wikipedia_Cites)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2020, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mrsa-how-bad-is-it-and-how-did-it-get-into-the-community-staph/854771/10 "2020-06-05T03:12:23Z")
How can one get MRSA from the ocean itself? Edit: Looks like ocean mammals, pollution, people with it lying on the beach. ---
**Author:** ![sbright33](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e8cbc/32.png) [@sbright33](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sbright33)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2020, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mrsa-how-bad-is-it-and-how-did-it-get-into-the-community-staph/854771/11 "2020-06-05T15:16:54Z")
Great question. Is it possible I got it from the shallow surf in Ocean City NJ? I had an open mosquito bite that immediately became infected.