MRSA

noun

ˌem-ˌär-ˌes-ˈā  ˈmər-sə 

: any of several strains of a bacterium (Staphylococcus aureus) that are resistant to methicillin and related antibiotics (such as penicillin) and typically live harmlessly on skin and mucous membranes but may cause usually mild infections of the skin or sometimes more severe infections (as of the blood, lungs, or bones) especially in hospitalized or immunocompromised individuals see ca-mrsa

Examples of MRSA in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Additional concerns from reusing towels are skin irritation that can cause eczema or atopic dermatitis flare-ups, fungal infections like athlete’s foot and ringworm, infectious diseases like conjunctivitis (pink eye), norovirus, staph (MRSA), and the spread of E.coli and allergens. —Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 10 Oct. 2024

There is an alphabet soup of microorganisms that have developed AMR such as MRSA, VRE, CRE and ESBLs. —Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes, 17 Sep. 2024

The researchers found that the pathogen-drug combination that had the largest increase in causing the most burden among all age groups was methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA. —Jacqueline Howard, CNN, 16 Sep. 2024

Six of them proved strikingly lethal against MRSA and other resistant bacteria. —Dhruv Khullar, The New Yorker, 2 Sep. 2024

Among the bacteria: E. coli, C. diff and the superbug MRSA, which resists common antibiotics and can cause life-threatening infections, according to the clinic. —Nick Halter, Axios, 18 Aug. 2024

The researchers recommended hospitals improve testing for MRSA colonization, especially at discharge, even when a patient in asymptomatic. —Tina Reed, Axios, 7 Aug. 2024

In the summer of 2016, dozens of the overhead units that contain the reading light and the air vent and, inside, the oxygen masks that are supposed to drop down in an emergency ended up in the MRSA. —Krista Stevens, Longreads, 2 July 2024

In the first dish, which had been infused with MRSA and molecular machines, the larvae wriggled happily. —Dhruv Khullar, The New Yorker, 13 June 2024

Word History

Etymology

methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

First Known Use

1979, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing MRSA

• CA-MRSA

Kids Definition

MRSA

noun

ˌem-ˌär-ˌes-ˈā,

ˈmər-sə

: any of several strains of a bacterium that are resistant to many common antibiotics and may cause usually mild infections of the skin or sometimes more severe infections (as of the blood or lungs)

Etymology

methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus

Medical Definition

MRSA

noun

ˌem-ˌär-ˌes-ˈā, ˈmər-sə 

: any of several strains of a bacterium (Staphylococcus aureus) that are resistant to methicillin and related antibiotics (such as penicillin) and often live harmlessly on skin and mucous membranes but may cause usually mild infections of the skin or sometimes more severe infections (as of the blood, lungs, or bone) especially in hospitalized or immunocompromised individuals

The rise of superbugs that can survive multiple antibiotics—such as MRSA, the notorious "flesh-eating bacterium"—has turned once-trivial infections into persistent problems.

—Valerie Ross, Discover

MRSA—methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus—lives harmlessly in the noses and on the skin of millions of people, but can cause serious harm if it enters the body through a cut and reaches the bloodstream, attacking bones and tissue.

—Bob Meadows, People

But in 2002 strains of MRSA that were also resistant to vancomycin began to emerge in hospitals.

—Christopher T. Walsh et al., Scientific American

see ca-mrsa

Etymology

methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus