MRSA Disease: Symptoms, Pathogenicity, Diagnosis, Treatment and Prevention

Running head: MRSA DISEASE 1
Microbiology
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MRSA DISEASE
MRSA DISEASE
For my unknown ID performance assessment task, I picked agar plate number 17. In the
process of identifying which bacteria I had, the first technique I performed was to make a streak
plate using the bacteria from my agar plate. Next, I heated and fixed the bacteria to a slide in
order to perform other identification tests on it. One of the first differential tests run on a
bacterial specimen in any laboratory to determine identification and drug therapy is the gram
stain; therefore, this was the next test I performed on my bacteria.
The results of the gram stain revealed the bacteria were gram-positive since it retained the
deep purple colour (if the bacteria on the slide were pinkish red, then it would have been gram
negative) and the morphology was cocci because of the round shape of the bacteria. Since the
bacteria were gram-positive and not gram-negative, this allowed me to exclude the following
bacteria: Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebesiella pneumonaie, and Proteus vulgaris because they
are all gram-negative.
In addition, I was able to exclude the following bacteria: Bacillus cereas, Mycobacterium
smegmatis and Listeria monocytogenes based on the fact that they are gram-positive rods and my
bacteria was a gram-positive coccus. This brought me to the next identification test which was
the catalase test. My bacterium was catalase positive because the catalase test produced bubbles
if there would have been no bubbles present, then the results would have been catalase negative.
The results of the catalase test allowed me to exclude the bacteria Streptococcus
pyogenesis which is gram-positive cocci and catalase negative. In conclusion, based on the
results of my tests which were gram-positive, cocci, and catalase positive; I determined that my

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MRSA DISEASE
agar plate number 17 bacteria was Staphylococcus aureus a causal bacterium responsible for
MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) disease.
General Description of MRSA Disease
MRSA is a contagious infection caused by Staphylococcus bacteria. The disease is highly
resistant to antibiotics making its treatment challenging. By nature, the bacteria do exist in the
nose and on the skin, but little do they cause harm (Shrestha, Fraser & Gordon, 2017). However,
when the bacteria start to multiply uncontrollably, they lead to an MRSA infection.
Means of Transmission of MRSA
The disease can be transferred by agents that include sharing of items with someone who
has MRSA such as clothes, sheets and towels. In addition, touching someone who has it or
surfaces that have MRSA in them also lead to disease transmission (Shrestha, Fraser & Gordon,
2017). Also, the disease can be transferred easily to people with open wounds, those who use
feeding tubes in hospitals and those with burns.
The Incubation Time of MRSA
Since an MRSA is a staph disease, there should be some already existing bacteria and
mucous membranes within the individuals’ body. Therefore, it is difficult to determine the exact
and correct period of incubation for the disease. But, if the infections are inherited from another
person through open wounds or damaged mucous membranes, the period of incubation ranges
from the first day to the tenth day (Lee, Pettitt & Dancer, 2018).