MRSA-Methicillin-resistant S.

aureus
• One of the most common causes of infection
• Highly adaptable to different environments
• Affects the bloodstream, skin and soft tissues, and lower respiratory
tract
• Accounts for 25 to 50% of S. aureus infections in hospital settings
Origins
• S. aureus was first isolated in 1880 By Sir Alexander Ogston from a
surgical wound infection.
• S. aureus had a 80% mortality rate before the development of
penicillin
• Sir Alexander Flemming developed penicillin in 1942.
• 80% of clinical cases of S. aureus became resistant by 1945
• By the 1950s 90-95% fo S. aureus strains worldwide became resistant
to penicillin
Epidemics
• Penicillin-resistant S. aureus caused a pandemics in Australia, the
United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada in the 1950s
• Initial outbreaks were limited to hospitals before spreading to the
general public
• The pandemic lasted approximately 10 years before the vaccine
Methicillin was put to use in 1959
• By 1961 the first strains of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus
(MRSA) were reported in the United Kingdom