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Explore Your Options for MRSA Treatment

Staph skin infections become Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections if not treated properly. MRSA infections typically occur in two different types of settings. The first, in healthcare settings, is called health care-associated MRSA. The second can occur in communities and is known as community-associated MRSA.

Infectious disease doctors at UPMC offer reliable testing and treatment for MRSA. If you’d like to schedule an appointment, Find a Provider at UPMC.

MRSA Symptoms

Symptoms of MRSA depend on the site of the infection. Mild skin infections, like sores or boils, are common. More severe skin infections can also occur, as well as surgical wound infections, tainted bloodstream, infected lungs or urinary tract.

MRSA infections display the following characteristics:

  • Site of infection is warm when touched
  • Infection is full of pus and/or drainage
  • Infected person may have a fever

MRSA Causes

Staph bacteria are typically found on the skin or nose. MRSA is carried by about two percent of the population, but this bacteria is generally harmless, unless it enters the body through a cut, which can lead to an infected wound or pneumonia.

MRSA may be spread via contact with an infected person or infected surfaces/objects. People most susceptible to getting MRSA are those with weak immune systems, or those who are in hospitals or other types of health care centers or nursing homes. It can also be found in surgical wounds and invasive devices (like catheters).

MRSA is also the result of incorrect use of antibiotics, which has lead some strains of staph bacteria to develop antibiotic resistance. MRSA is currently resistant to methicillin, amoxicillin, penicillin, oxacillin and other common antibiotics.

MRSA Treatment at UPMC 

MRSA treatment varies by infection and location type, how severe symptoms are and which antibiotics certain strains of MRSA respond to.

Treatment for MRSA includes the following medications:

  • Clindamycin
  • Tetracycline drugs (Doxycycline and Minocycline)
  • Trimethoprim and Sulfamethoxazole
  • Rifampin
  • Linezolid

UPMC provides infectious disease services, offering care to evaluate, diagnose and treat cases of MRSA in central PA.