Week 10/10-14/11 Blog-MRSA Article
You'll see the link below to a scientific article I would like you to read and comment on. This article discusses the MRSA evolutionary history which is relevant to the topics we have been discussing in Chapter 5. So you are to read the article (note article is in the pdf format & if you can't print or read it online let me know and I can send you a copy directly.)
Blog Questions:
1) Explain what MRSA is and its history.(see background section)
2) What are some of the conclusions that these scientists have found from this research?
3) Explain how this article highlights some of the ideas discussed in chapter 4 and 5.
4) How reliable is this article? What are some ways you can convince me that this article presents legitimate findings?
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ReplyDelete1. MRSA is cause to infectious disease that is hard to cure because it is becoming resistant to antibiotic medicine. The start of MRSA is not really known. Scientist are trying to find out the start of MRSA by analyzing the previous clones of MRSA that are possible. There are also other ideas about how MRSA started, but there has not been a clear consensus on it.
ReplyDelete2. Scientist have analyzed 912 MRSA and methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) isolates. Within that analysis they found 11 major MRSA groups within those genotypes. They concluded that this analysis could help determined the origin of MRSA.
3. The article talks about how the MRSA has to almost change, or clone itself to keep being able to resist the antibiotics. This correlates to biological evolution, the change in genetic makeup (or mutations) and an adaptive trait, which we learned about in chapter 4.
4. This article is reliable because it show scientific proof of how the MRSA was being analyzed and broken down. The graphs and pictures present information about how the origin of MRSA, or clones of MRSA, came about. The article even goes into detail about methods and tools to analyze MRSA.
1) MRSA is methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, which can cause infections and is difficult on accord of its resistance to most antibiotics. First reported in 1961, only 2 years after the introduction of methicillin, a strain of Staphylococcus aureus appeared in the U.K. that was resistant to the new antibiotics. Since then, various strains have appeared worldwide, causing concern throughout the medical community. Only recently have scientists been able to clearly identify the traits for antibiotic resistance, and identify specific strains confidently.
ReplyDelete2) All strains of MRSA are believed to have originated at the same source, first as MSSA, which is a strain of Staphylococcus aureous that is susceptible to antibiotic treatment, although specifics are argued. Through new technology and using the MLST technique which uses a BURST algorithm to help follow the genetic and allelic differences between strains. These variations allow scientists to follow most strains back to a single S. aureus strain ST8, although the strain believed to be the first to contain the mec trait (gives bacteria resistance to certain antibiotics) is ST250. Still, ST8 is believed to be the precursor to most MRSA strains. This article also concludes that the previous techniques of gel electrophoresis are inadequate and outdated in comparison to the new MLST process.
3) This article shows similar ideas as chapters 4 and 5, particularly genetic resistance. In chapter 4 of the book, it describes how most normal bacteria are killed by antibiotics, while some bacteria evolve, or mutate, becoming resistant to the antibiotics. When antibiotics are applied, the resistant bacteria survive and continue to multiply, creating an entirely resistant strain. This concept it illustrated on page 82 and 83 of the text book and illustrated in figure 4-5. This article describes a type of Staphylococcus aureus, which has become resistant to antibiotics through the same process discussed in chapter 4.
4) Based on my limited knowledge of the subject, the article appears to me as reliable and based on sound ideas. This article also appears to be reliable because of the numerous sources the article cites. After looking into several of the sources, it appears that the citations are in fact from legitimate sources. Based on the sources the article used, it is believable that this article presents legitimate findings.
1. Methicillin was invented in 1959 to treat infections caused by penicillin-resistant Staphylococcus, but reports came back and said that the isolates of Staphylococcus aureus where not destroyed by methicillin and MRSA was born. MRSA isolates are vulnerable only to peptide antibiotics like vancomycin and investigational drugs. The resistance to those drugs is growing stronger, and that is why MRSA isolates is such a risk to the public. Studies have shown that MRSA is slightly connected to MSSA clones, meaning that they could possibly could be the origin of MRSA.
ReplyDelete2. Scientists have learned where MRSA has come from and where it originated. They have discovered that there are eleven types of clones and within those clones there are 5 groups of similar genotypes. Those major MRSA clones have come from the earlier epidemic strains of MSSA. To identify the different MRSA isolates they use pulsed-field gel electrophoresis.
3. This article is based around natural selection, specifically antibiotic resistance in disease-causing bacteria. The MRSA has an adaptive trait that allows it to survive and live on through humans many attempts to eliminate it. Those ideas and topics are ideas that were discussed in chapter 4.
4. This article seems very reliable because they cite every source, and give emails, websites etc. They also give specific methods that they used to come to their many conclusions. The pictures/graphs they give seem accurate and they go into detail on many subjects.
1. MRSA stands for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus which is a organism that has evolved and keeps evolving to become resistant to their threats such as antibiotics. They are the “bug” that makes people afraid of hospitals and surgery due to its infection success. The first time someone was infected with MRSA was in 1961 in the UK. The first reports if MRSA happened only 2 year after Methicillin was introduced to the medical world as a solution to the penicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. MRSA has spread through hospitals nationally and scientists are currently researching for this answer by studding clones of MRSA. So far they haven’t found anything concrete.
ReplyDelete2. They have concluded that MRSA has most likely originated from MSSA. By looking at the genotypes within the clones, they theorize that MRSA is simply MSSA that has evolved (with natural selection) in order to survive against its threats.
3. In Chapter four, the main focus is about evolution. MRSA is a great example of how evolution can help a species survive. We learn about natural selection which is where certain organisms within the same species have certain genes that can possibly give them advantage if they need to evolve. Natural selection is what sets MRSA apart from MSSA.
4. The article is extremely specific and breaks down all the analysis for the reader. It also has graphs and diagrams to help explain the research. All the details make it possible for a reader who doesn’t believe the evidence to actually go out and do the research on their own. It also uses extremely reliable sources in its citation.