|| powered by | Community-acquired pneumonia in influenza
season: There's a bad strain on the rise09.11.2009 - (idw)
European Respiratory Society ROME - Infections due to
methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains are
no longer confined to hospitals but occur more and more in
communities. Two articles in the European Respiratory Journal's
November issue are dedicated to this dangerous and versatile
microorganism. For many years, MRSA infections were associated
with hospitalised, high-risk patients. Not only has the
infection pattern recently shifted from hospital-acquired
(nosocomial) to community-onset infections, but new strains have
emerged, affecting young individuals, who don't have any risk
factors. It seems that everything we know about these bacteria
is becoming obsolete, to such an extent that a group of Italian
researchers are now asking: "What is MRSA?" This question (and
the answer) is dealt with by Dr. Annalisa Pantosi from the
Istituto Superiore di Sanita in Rome, Italy, and her