Is MRSA Contagious?

Posted on Mon, 28 Jul 2014

Question: I was diagnosed with MRSA today and I babysit I was wondering if I should discontinue babysitting for awhile ... if so for how long am I contagious .. the dr ordered me two antibiotics btw

Answered by Dr. Roopa Hiremath (3 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Discontinue till you are culture negative

Detailed Answer:
Hi,

Welcome to Health care magic,

I understand your concern regarding spreading of MRSA to the children you are babysitting.

MRSA is methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus which is difficult to treat as it is resistant to penicillins which are the most common antibiotics used to control staphylococcal infections.

Please complete the full course of antibiotics prescribed to you and then undergo another culture sensitivity testing.

I suggest you discontinue babysitting till you are MRSA culture negative.

MRSA also has the property of colonizing nasopharynx, throat and hands leading to a carrier state where you do not have infection but still harbor the bacteria.

I suggest you also get a nasal swab, throat swab and hand swab tested for MRSA to rule out carrier state.

I hope I have helped you with this answer.

Please get back if any more clarifications.

Thanks.

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar