If one is treated for MRSA, are they still contagious?

[beachmom]

If someone has a MRSA infection and is treated with IV Vanco, when he gets out of the hospital, is he still able to spread MRSA to others?

If a person has strep, after 24 hours of antibiotics they are considered not contagious anymore. But with MRSA, I have heard it said people may be carriers forever.

I had a relative treated for MRSA, and the doctors just told us to "wash our hands a lot and we will be fine." I thought, no way. If he still has MRSA on him, if he touches ANYTHING in my house, and then I touch the same thing, I can now become colonized with MRSA. But if he is treated with Vanco, and the wound heals completely, is he still colonized? Can he still spread it to everyone he touches?

So what's your opinion? If you invite someone in your home who was treated for MRSA, would you disinfect everything he touches?

[MunoRN, RN]

"MRSA" isn't a disease or even an infection, it's just refers to staph bacteria that are resistant to a group of antibiotics. Just like "regular" staff (MSSA) or any number of other bacteria that are always present on or in your body, it can be the culprit bacteria in an infection. We don't really "cure" MRSA, we treat infections caused by MRSA bacteria, just like we treat infections caused by other staph, strep which even once an infection is "cured", people are typically still colonized with those bacteria, which are two very different things. It's not really possible to fully decolonize someone of all bacteria without killing them, and you wouldn't really want to since our bodies need various bacteria to function properly. There is some debate as to whether or not it's actually possible to decolonize MRSA bacteria specifically, we know we can lower the bacterial load such as before surgery, and that we can make it harder to detect, but in general "curing" MRSA colonization isn't recommended even if it is potentially possible due the risk we might just give that person't MRSA bacteria even more resistance to other agents.

[RNfaster]

If a person has MRSA in a wound and they are giving IV antibiotics (e.g., vancomycin) to eradicate that wound infection., they could still be a carrier for MRSA. IV vancomycin can't get to the MRSA that's living in the person's nose or groin, for example. Sometimes folks that are colonized with MRSA in the nose are given mupirocin ointment to help decolonize them.

Check this out...

Meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) | Doctor | Patient.co.uk

[BBRANRN2013, ASN, RN]

Colonized MRSA does not need isolation precautions so I would assume not infectious anymore but don't quote me!

[Mr. Murse]

It's not unlikely that you or other family/friends you know besides the one you mentioned also carry MRSA with no signs or symptoms. As someone else mentioned, it's referring to a type of bacteria, not necessarily an infection. In most healthy people with properly functioning immune systems it is not a big threat. The problem comes when it reaches a vulnerable cut or sore on your skin, or you or your family become immunocompromised for some reason or another.

Still though, not to freak you out, but you are likely exposed on a regular basis to far more worrisome things than MRSA in your house and as you go about your day to day life between work, school, store, gas stations, etc, while you handle money, door handles, store products, bathroom levers, etc. You will drive yourself crazy if you try to protect yourself from all the possible infections that are hiding around your house and/or daily routine.

Plus it's a good thing to be exposed to unwanted microbes to a certain degree.

So relax. Take care of your body. Eat right. Exercise. Your body is capable of taking care of itself if you treat it right. Keep yourself and your living space clean within reason but it's probably a little over kill and paranoid to go wiping up behind your relative with clorox wipes every time he comes over.

[mmc51264, BSN, MSN, RN]

We require 3 swabs to take someone off of MRSA precautions, but since our pts don't usually stay long enough, they just get put on those precautions. I was told that most nurses are already colonized. We aren't contagious, but would probably test positive. Someone did a poster for this and most are not swabbing correctly-they need to be deep, not superficial nasal swabs.

Also the thing with MRSA and healthcare, we got from room to room with pts that may be compromised, therefore we are the carriers.