MRSA cellulitis is a severe skin infection caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) that can spread to deeper tissues and cause organ damage. It is common in hospitals and places with close living quarters. Improved sanitation and screening can help prevent it. Symptoms include redness, blisters, and pus-filled sores. Left untreated, it can lead to flesh-eating bacteria and other serious conditions.
MRSA cellulitis is severe inflammation of the lower layers of the skin and lower subcutaneous tissues, the dermis and hypodermis, caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection. MRSA is a staph infection frequently caught in hospitals. Like other Staphylococcus aureus infections, it most commonly infects the patient through breaks in the skin, such as those caused by cuts, bites, or puncture wounds. It is treatable, but due to decades of evolution under the selective pressure created by the widespread use of antibiotics it has developed immunity to many common antibiotics, such as penicillin. Left unchecked, a MRSA cellulitis infection can spread beyond the skin into deeper tissues, causing potentially fatal organ and tissue damage.
MRSA cellulitis occurs most frequently in situations where large numbers of people live in close proximity, such as prisons, nursing homes, and military barracks. MRSA infection is a particular problem in hospitals, as many hospital residents have weakened immune systems and skin damage, whether caused by injury or by medical equipment, such as needles and intravenous catheters. However, this problem can be greatly mitigated by improved sanitation and MRSA screening. The risk of infection is increased by physical conditions that affect circulation, such as diabetes, obesity and pregnancy. Frequent contact with livestock or with municipal facilities such as public changing rooms and gymnasiums are also risk factors.
MRSA cellulitis appears as a sore, red area that spreads around the small blisters that form in the area where the MRSA bacteria originally entered. The reddened area feels unusually warm when touched. As the infection progresses, the blisters become increasingly painful, grow larger, and fill with pus. Unlike more superficial bacterial skin infections in the epidermis, which tend to produce continuous areas of redness with well-defined borders, the area of redness that appears as a result of cellulitis has a more blotchy, diffuse appearance. It is possible for both to be present at the same time, however, so visual signs consistent with superficial infection do not necessarily rule out the possible existence of further, deeper infection.
Uncontrolled MRSA cellulitis in deep subcutaneous tissues can cause necrotizing fasciitis, commonly called “flesh-eating bacteria,” a condition in which toxins produced by the bacteria begin to destroy the soft tissue. If MRSA enters a sufferer’s bloodstream or lymphatic system, it can spread through the body and cause conditions such as pyomyositis, skeletal muscle infection, and necrotizing pneumonia. Additionally, the toxins produced by MRSA can lead to fatal sepsis or toxic shock syndrome.
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