Also called: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus
Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About MRSA
MRSA stands for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. It causes a staph infection (pronounced "staff infection") that is resistant to several common antibiotics. There are two types of infection. Hospital-associated MRSA happens to people in health care settings. Community-associated MRSA happens to people who have close skin-to-skin contact with others, such as athletes involved in football and wrestling.
Infection control is key to stopping MRSA in hospitals. To prevent community-associated MRSA:
- Practice good hygiene
- Keep cuts and scrapes clean and covered with a bandage until healed
- Avoid contact with other people's wounds or bandages
- Avoid sharing personal items, such as towels, washcloths, razors, or clothes
- Wash soiled sheets, towels, and clothes in hot water with bleach and dry in a hot dryer
If a wound appears to be infected, see a health care provider. Treatments may include draining the infection and antibiotics.
It sits within Infections.
The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.
Research on MRSA
281 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.
What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.
Research currently under way
- Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole vs. Clindamycin for the Treatment of Children With Invasive MRSA InfectionsIndiana University
- Daptomycin vs. Vancomycin for the Treatment of Methicillin Resistant S. Aureus BacteremiaTodd C. Lee MD MPH FIDSA
- Linezolid Plus Standard of CareUniversity Hospital, Basel, Switzerland
- Antibiotic Prophylaxis in High-Risk Arthroplasty PatientsMayo Clinic
- Staphylococcus Aureus Network Adaptive Platform TrialUniversity of Melbourne
- PMT for MDRO DecolonizationUniversity of Pennsylvania
Research already completed
- Staph Intervention for Effective Local DefenseJohns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
- Animal-Assisted Visitation Program Chlorhexidine TrialJohns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
- Checklist to Prevent MRSA Surgical Site InfectionsVA Office of Research and Development
- Comparison of Two Dosage Adjustment Strategies of Vancomycin in ChildrenAssistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris
- Swab Testing to Optimize Pneumonia Treatment With Empiric VancomycinVanderbilt University Medical Center
- Effect of Direct-from-blood Bacterial Testing on Antibiotic Administration and Clinical OutcomesVanderbilt University Medical Center
Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Start Here
- Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) BasicsCenters for Disease Control and Prevention
- MRSAVisualDX
- MRSA InfectionMayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
Diagnosis and Tests
- MRSA TestsNational Library of Medicine
- Nasal SwabNational Library of Medicine
Prevention and Risk Factors
- Athletes: MRSA Prevention and ControlCenters for Disease Control and Prevention
- Preventing Lice, Pinworms, and MRSA at the PoolCenters for Disease Control and Prevention
- Preventing Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Related Issues
- AbscessVisualDX
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureusNational Institutes of Health
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for MRSA, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.