Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus: An Emerging Risk for Circumcised Boys

Abstract

Staphylococcus aureus has been treated with antibiotic regimens for more than six decades. The organism has shown a remarkable ability to evolve resistance to commonly used antibiotics. The resistant strains commonly are called methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The antibiotic-resistant varieties, which commonly had been found in hospitals, recently have entered the community, where their prevalence, in many areas, are reaching epidemic proportions. MRSA is carried on the skin and in the nares of healthy people. Healthcare workers and parents may colonize newborn infants with MRSA. Any open wound, including a circumcision wound, increases the risk of infection. Staphylococcus aureus commonly causes skin infections, but it may also cause fulminating necrolytic pneumonia, meningitis, necrotizing fascii-tis, and other life-threatening systemic infections. The community-associated strains (CA-MRSA) have developed new virulence factors not previously seen in hospital-associated strains (HA-MRSA). Treatment should be aggressive and immediate, but still the death rate is high. Avoidance of non-therapeutic circumcision is indicated.