MRSA stands for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. MRSA is a “staph” germ that does not get better with the type of antibiotics that usually cure staph infections.

When this occurs, the germ is said to be “resistant” to the antibiotic.

MRSA is a major pathogen in both nosocomial (infection acquired in a hospital) and community-acquired (the infection comes from a non-hospital source) infections worldwide. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it is one of the most common causes of human skin and soft tissue infections in the United States. In the United States, MRSA is the 10th leading cause of death in humans, and is the most frequently identified antimicrobial drug-resistant pathogen (a pathogen is a disease-producing organism, such as a virus or bacteria) in hospitals and other healthcare facilities. A report published in 2008 estimated that 1.5% of the US population (~4.1 million people) was colonized with MRSA.