Deadly strain of MRSA now resistant to a last-line antibiotic used to treat infections

A deadly strain of a hospital superbug has become resistant to a last-line antibiotic used to treat infections, scientists have warned. Although it has not spread so far, doctors said 'the risk that MRSA could eventually overwhelm even our last-line drugs is a very serious one' branding it 'a dangerous organism in hospitals.' American researchers have found since 2002 there have been 12 cases of the antibiotic resistant superbug CC5.

A deadly cluster of MRSA bacteria. A type called CC5 has become proficient at picking up resistance gene

It has become proficient at picking up resistance genes including the one that makes it resistant to vancomycin - the last line of defence for hospital-acquired infections.

Researcher Jim Sliwa said: 'MRSA strains are leading causes of hospital-acquired infections in the United States, and clonal cluster 5 (CC5) is the predominant lineage responsible for these infections.

'Since 2002, there have been 12 cases of vancomycin-resistant S. aureus (VRSA) infection in the United States - all CC5 strains.'Vancomycin is a key last-line bactericidal drug for treating these infections.' 

In the study researchers sequenced the genomes of all available vancomycin-resistant MRSA strains to find what distinguishes them from other lineages and why CC5 is apparently more adept than other strains at picking up vancomycin resistance.

Vancomycin-resistant MRSA strains and other CC5 lineages have some important differences from other types of MRSA, including adaptations that allow them to co-exist with other types of bacteria and may help them take up foreign DNA.It was found they lacked a set of genes that encode an antibiotic protein made by bacteria to kill other bacteria. Mr Sliwa said: 'This is important because it enables CC5 to get along well with other bacteria in mixed infections. 

'Instead of killing off competing organisms, CC5 aims to co-exist. This enables it to pick up genes - like the one that encodes vancomycin resistance - from unexpected places. 'Mixed infections are breeding grounds for antibiotic resistance because they encourage the exchange of genes among very different kinds of organisms.'In roughly the place where these bacteriocin genes are missing is a unique cluster of genes that encode enterotoxins - proteins that attack the human host and, again, could make it easier for mixed populations of bacteria to grow at infection sites.' Researchers also discovered CC5 has a mutation in a gene which is known to influence the ability to assimilate foreign DNA. He added: 'This makes CC5 a dangerous organism in hospitals. 

'In hospitals, pathogens are under continuous pressure from antibiotics to survive and evolve, and CC5 isolates appear to be very well adapted to succeed by acquiring new resistances. 'Frequent use of antibiotics in hospital patients could select for strains like CC5 that have an enhanced ability to co-exist with bacteria that provide genes for antibiotic resistance.'The findings are published by the American Society for Microbiology.

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2147653/Deadly-strain-MRSA-resistant-line-antibiotic-used-treat-infections.html#ixzz1vvZLhqCe

Coconut Oil Provides a Solution to the Spread of MRSA

Source: Kim Evans, citizen journalist
http://www.naturaln ews.com/028139_ coconut_oil_ MRSA.html

(NaturalNews) MRSA is often described as a contagious, potentially
lethal bacterial infection that's difficult to eliminate because it's
resistant to antibiotics. But the problem is that doctors are trying to
use antibiotics to fight the disease - and antibiotics are immune
destroying drugs that pathogens are known to develop resistance against.
In addition, doctors are neglecting to use natural antibiotic substances
that germs, pathogens and bacteria don't develop resistance to - and
that don't fundamentally destroy our first line of immune defense.
Coconut oil is one such solution and for a MRSA sufferer, it can be used
both internally and externally.

Taken internally, coconut oil is a renowned and powerful antiviral,
antifungal, and antibacterial agent. With time, its disease-fighting
lipid compounds build in the body and provide on-going protection for
numerous problems. Of course, coconut oil also helps eliminate immediate
pathogenic problems. Staphylococcus aureus, the pathogen with MRSA, is
among the many bacteria and viruses that coconut oil has been shown to
inactivate. A therapeutic dose of coconut oil is generally 3 to 4
tablespoons each day.

Coconut oil also helps the body detoxify itself. This is important
because MRSA not only affects the skin, but it also poisons the blood.
In fact, MRSA has been found to cause almost 40 percent of all of the
blood poisoning cases in the U.K. And when your blood is being poisoned,
the only logical solution is to help your body remove those poisons.

Externally, coconut oil can be used as skin lotion which creates a
protective barrier on the skin. Because of this barrier and the fact
that your skin will have now protective antibacterial compounds in it,
using coconut oil externally regularly before entering a hospital or
coming in contact with an infected person may prevent you from catching
the disease.

Coconut oil acts with compounds on our skin to create an acidic surface
that is inhospitable to pathogens. When this barrier is in place, very
few pathogens are found on our skin. Our bodies have this acidic barrier
naturally, but soap frequently washes it away. This leaves us open to
problems that enter the body through the skin - including MRSA. For this
reason, it's best to use coconut oil on the skin immediately after
bathing to restore this protective barrier quickly.

For extra MRSA fighting power, the natural antiseptic and antibacterial
agent tea tree oil can be added to coconut oil before applying it to the
skin. Tea tree oil has been shown in studies to be effective against the
disease, and coconut oil will help draw the tea tree oil into the body
as well.

Most doctors don't know what they're doing to the long-term immune
health of patients by giving them antibiotics, but it's right in the
Merck Manual that antibiotics destroy our healthy bacteria. And because
our healthy bacteria are our first line of immune defense against
unhealthy bacteria and other pathogens, it's ridiculous that drugs that
destroy them are given to patients - and particularly to those with
major bacterial problems to begin with.