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Origins of a Superbug:
Aberdeen & MRSA
The bacteria Staphylococcus aureus was first discovered by
Sir Alexander Ogston, a surgeon working at the Aberdeen
Royal Infirmary in the late 1870s. At the time his work was
received with huge concern, with the editor of the British
Medical Journal asking “can anything good come out of
Aberdeen?”! S. aureus has since become recognised as one
of the most important species of disease-causing bacteria in
humans.
Through a process of natural selection many strains of S. aureus
have now developed resistance to antibiotics, turning them into
superbugs. They are commonly referred to under the umbrella
name Methicillin-Resistant S. aureus, or MRSA. While present
normally on the skin, nose and throat, if any form of MRSA gets
into the blood stream it can cause serious and hard-to-treat
infection, and is responsible for several hundred deaths in the
UK every year and many more elsewhere in the world.
Infection by MRSA can be prevented by taking simple
measures including regular hand washing, maintaining
clean sanitation facilities, keeping fingernails short and
clean, and avoiding sharing of unwashed towels and
personal items such a razors, nail files and hairbrushes. The
University of Aberdeen undertakes many different types of
research, from microbiology to public health interventions,
to support the global fight against infections, so building
on the legacy of Professor Ogston’s crucial discovery.
www.soapboxcollaborative.org
Sources: http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/physical_health/conditions/mrsa.shtml; Newsom, S. (2008) Ogston’s Coccus. Journal of Hospital
Infection 70(4): 369-372; http://mrsaactionuk.net/pottedhistoryMRSA.html; ttp://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/MRSA/Pages/Introduction.aspx