Mrsa

There are many bacterial skin infections that affect people that go unnoticed or untreated that further develop into a significant skin disease. One such bacterium that has gained much attention from the science field as well as from the public is Staphylococci bacterium and the well-known methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). There have been many reports, private and public, regarding the detrimental effect this bacterium has. We are finding the prevalence of these bacteria in many places, including but not limited to hospitals.
History reveals that an English Surgeon, Joseph Lister who was partial to Louis Pasteur’s work in preventing post-operative infections and mortality in the 1860’s used carbolic acid dressings(1). It was in the 1880’s where Staphylococcus was identified based on wound infection pus and morphology under the microscope observed by Scottish surgeon Sir Alexander Ogston(1,6). In 1884, German scientist Anton Rosenbach isolated two strains of Staphylococci; Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus albus (S. epidermidis)(1,6). In the 1940’s, mortality rate from Staphylococcus aureus was documented to be as high as 80% in some hospitals (1,6). In the late 1940’s, infections were diminishing and cured with the beta-lactam ring antibiotic Penicillin (1,6). Late 1940’s and early 50’s, Penicillin resistant Staphylococcus outbreaks began to occur (1,6). Late 1950’s a new drug, Methicillin is developed to kill Staphyloccocus aureus infections but the strain develops quickly to resist (1,6). Finally, in the 1960’s there is a multidrug-resistant bacterium known as Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Just as it became resistant to Penicillin because of its overuse and misuse, in 2002, there have been documentation of a rare resistant strain of Staphylococcus aureus to Vancomycin (considered last resort antibiotic) (1,6).  
Before the resistant strain, there was just Staphyloccocus aureus. It is a member of the Firmicutes, which is...