Virulent strain of MRSA now in the community

Further to my articles on hospital MRSA ..

A new strain of MRSA called Community Associated MRSA (CA-MRSA) that infects people in the community as opposed to vulnerable and sick people in hospitals, appears to be gaining a foothold because of certain clever tricks the bacteria has learned about the human immune system that it uses to its advantage.

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in Hamilton, Montana have pinpointed the genes on the CA-MRSA that produce a class of peptides called PSMs.  These PSMs recruit, activate and neutralize human neutrophils (a common type of white blood cell), the main line of defence against an infection by Staphylococcus aureus.

Elaine Warburton

Genetics and Health  www.geneticsandhealth.com