How can we control the infection rates of MRSA in hospitals? issue report

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How can we control the infection rates of MRSA in hospitals?

So what is MRSA? It stands for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus; it is a bacterium which has become resistant to antibiotics, it is also known as multidrug resistant.

Staphylococcus aureus is a common bacterium found in certain areas like skin and nose but is usually harmless at these sites. Although can result in infections causing pimples or conjunctivitis in the eye. More serious problems include pneumonia and heart disease.                                                    

It is usually described as a ‘superbug’ [1] because the species includes strains of variable virulence—the ability to spread, colonise a host and cause disease. An outbreak of infection occurs when a bacterium, fungus or virus is transmitted to susceptible hosts and causes disease. Outbreaks can be a small scale like family members or even pandemic.

These bacteria carry genes encoding penicillinase, an enzyme that breaks down penicillin and prevents it from killing the S. aureus bacteria. They can do this because they have the ability to modify their DNA by mutation or by acquisition of DNA from other bacteria.

The ways to prevent the infection spreading usually involve good hygiene, [2] anyone going into a hospital is advised to take sensible precautions. These usually involve cleaning your hands very often; even if you are a visitor you must clean your hands before and after visiting. Also, hospitals usually have a lot of alcohol based gels to clean your hands with efficiently.                                       Staffs are told to maintain high standards of hygiene and wear disposable gloves when they have contact with open wounds. Other ways hospitals prevent MRSA spreading include: keeping the hospital as clean and dry as possible, including floors, toilets and beds. They also isolate patients with a known or suspected MRSA infection and limit the transferring of patients.

The information here is mainly from Source [2] and I believe it’s reliable because it’s on the NHS site. As it is provided on the NHS website then the information provided should be correct, although this isn’t the only reason, because I found similar information on sources [3] and [7]. Source [2] was written in 2009 so it isn’t outdated information and therefore should still be valid. I would also consider the writers of this to be experts in the subject as they work for the NHS itself.

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Moving onto a more practical solution could be to use better management of the use of antibiotics; use selective prescriptions of antibiotics. Find ways to reduce the rate of evolution in the bacteria. By keeping a good record of which antibiotics are used and when, we could also limit them to occasions when they are the only option, and not just because it’s the fastest way. Then we must also make sure the patient finishes their prescription and increase the length if the symptoms are still there. We could also use more than one type of antibiotic together, this has ...

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**** A very good AS report, which clearly outlines the problems associated with hospital infections such as MRSA, outlines how improved hygiene appears to be reducing infection incidence, and explores alternatives to improved hygiene for reducing the issue of antibiotic resistance. To improve: 1)Add relevant biological detail about MRSA as an organism, and include detail of how antibiotic resistance arises and the mechanism of natural selection 2)Consider authors reputation and citations when evaluating primary research references. Consider whether all information sources are referenced on websites like NHS 3)Ensure that the problem the report addresses is outlined clearly, i.e. how MRSA spread can be reduced 4)Consider dividing the report into clear sections with sub-headings