MRSA

noun

ˌem-ˌär-ˌes-ˈā  ˈmər-sə 

: any of several strains of a bacterium (Staphylococcus aureus) that are resistant to methicillin and related antibiotics (such as penicillin) and typically live harmlessly on skin and mucous membranes but may cause usually mild infections of the skin or sometimes more severe infections (as of the blood, lungs, or bones) especially in hospitalized or immunocompromised individuals see ca-mrsa

Examples of MRSA in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In early 2017, the North Charleston brass exiled Barnett to a section called Material Review Segregation Area or MRSA, ironically the storage site for those non-conforming parts. —Shawn Tully, Fortune, 16 Mar. 2024

The Centers for Disease Control website explains that MRSA is a type of bacteria resistant to several antibiotics and is often transmitted through sharing personal items that have come into contact with infected skin, such as towels and razors. —Jordan Greene, Peoplemag, 12 Mar. 2024

Researchers then took 20 mice and deliberately infected them with methicillin-resistant S. aureus, better known as MRSA. —Corinne Purtill, Los Angeles Times, 15 Feb. 2024

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) Note: The total number of (zoonotic) diseases that can spread between animals and people is surprisingly large, from Aeromonas infections to tularemia. —Scott Lafee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Feb. 2024

He was infected three times with COVID-19, and was chronically infected with MRSA. —Christopher Ketcham, Harper's Magazine, 1 Nov. 2023

The compounds identified in this new study were effective at killing microbes such as MRSA in mice, right? —Tanya Lewis, Scientific American, 20 Dec. 2023

In the same vein, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or MRSA, an antibiotic-resistant and deadly bacterial infection, can be confused with recluse bites. —Anna Nordseth, Discover Magazine, 27 July 2023

The result is hard-to-treat infections, such as multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (also known as MRSA), and vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (or VRSA). —Larry Brilliant, Foreign Affairs, 20 Dec. 2022

Word History

Etymology

methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

First Known Use

1979, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing MRSA

• CA-MRSA

Kids Definition

MRSA

noun

ˌem-ˌär-ˌes-ˈā,

ˈmər-sə

: any of several strains of a bacterium that are resistant to many common antibiotics and may cause usually mild infections of the skin or sometimes more severe infections (as of the blood or lungs)

Etymology

methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus

Medical Definition

MRSA

noun

ˌem-ˌär-ˌes-ˈā, ˈmər-sə 

: any of several strains of a bacterium (Staphylococcus aureus) that are resistant to methicillin and related antibiotics (such as penicillin) and often live harmlessly on skin and mucous membranes but may cause usually mild infections of the skin or sometimes more severe infections (as of the blood, lungs, or bone) especially in hospitalized or immunocompromised individuals

The rise of superbugs that can survive multiple antibiotics—such as MRSA, the notorious "flesh-eating bacterium"—has turned once-trivial infections into persistent problems.

—Valerie Ross, Discover

MRSA—methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus—lives harmlessly in the noses and on the skin of millions of people, but can cause serious harm if it enters the body through a cut and reaches the bloodstream, attacking bones and tissue.

—Bob Meadows, People

But in 2002 strains of MRSA that were also resistant to vancomycin began to emerge in hospitals.

—Christopher T. Walsh et al., Scientific American

see ca-mrsa

Etymology

methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus