What's the status these days of that staph infection that is resistant to antibiotics?

The overuse of antibiotics has led to bacteria that are resistant to most antibiotics. In the hospitals, this has been a major concern. Patients admitted are often already at risk for infection. And hospitals are a breeding ground for many infections.

These are referred to as hospital-acquired infections. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is the most important cause of hospital-acquired infections. S. aureus is a bacterium known by its shorter, abbreviated form: staph infection.

MRSA refers to the fact that S. aureus is resistant to most penicillins. For a long time, Methicillin (a penicillin derivative) was the only drug that could combat this infection. Eventually the staph bacteria became resistant to Methicillin.

Methicillin is no longer on the market but the term MRSA is still used. Other similar drugs (e.g., flucloxacillin, dicloxacillin, clindamycin) are now in use instead. If staph becomes resistant to all antibiotics, there may be no way to treat simple infections.

Doctors are scaling back their use of antibiotics these days in hopes that this will help. Scientists are developing new and better blood tests to determine whether antibiotics are needed for infections. Any infection caused by a virus won't respond to an antibiotic. Avoiding the use of these medications for viral-induced illnesses is an important first step in this process.