MRSA may progress substantially within 24–48 hours of initial topical symptoms. After 72 hours, MRSA can take hold in human tissues and eventually become resistant to treatment. The initial presentation of MRSA is small red bumps that resemble pimples, spider bites, or boils; they may be accompanied by fever and, occasionally, rashes. Within a few days, the bumps become larger and more painful; they eventually open into deep, pus-filled boils.[3] About 75 percent of community-associated (CA-) MRSA infections are localized to skin and soft tissue and usually can be treated effectively[citation needed]. But some CA-MRSA strains display enhanced virulence, spreading more rapidly and causing illness much more severe than traditional healthcare-associated (HA-) MRSA infections, and they can affect vital organs and lead to widespread infection (sepsis), toxic shock syndrome, and necrotizing ("flesh-eating") pneumonia. This is thought to be due to toxins carried by CA-MRSA strains, such as PVL and PSM, though PVL was recently found to not be a factor in a study by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at the NIH. It is not known why some healthy people develop CA-MRSA skin infections that are treatable while others infected with the same strain develop severe infections or die.[4]

Originally posted by netwarrior
reply to post by sonnny1

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This. I lost a great-grandmother and an uncle to that vile pathogen. 8:1 bleach/water and ironclad infectious disease protocol.

Originally posted by butcherguy
reply to post by mountaingirl1111

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I had MRSA(CA) in the summer of 2007.

It developed from a mosquito bite that I got in the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

In less than a week from the day that I was bitten, I was in the ER to get treatment. The bite was on my right index finger. By the time I went to the ER, my right arm was swollen from my finger to my elbow. Within a day, they performed surgery on my hand, and the surgeon said that I would have lost my hand if I had waited another hour before coming to the hospital.

I was hospitalized for a week, had two surgeries performed on my hand and had a pic line installed to deliver antibiotics directly into my aorta. Luckily, the MRSA was not vancomycin resistant. I received IV vancomycin for 4 weeks. I went through A lot of physical therapy to get my hand back to 'somewhat' normal, I still have restricted mobility and numbness.
I consider myself to be very lucky.

edit on 27-4-2012 by butcherguy because: (no reason given)