First guidelines for MRSA treatment

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 5 (UPI) -- A U.S. health group has issued guidelines to help physicians treat the "superbug" methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

The Infectious Diseases Society of America guidelines suggest not prescribing antibiotics for some common, less complicated, forms of MRSA infections -- frequently mistaken for spider bites.

The guidelines, published in Clinical Infectious Diseases, also address treatment of invasive -- potentially fatal -- MRSA, including pneumonia and infections of the blood, heart, bone, joints and central nervous system.

"MRSA has become a huge public health problem and physicians often struggle with how to treat it," lead author Dr. Catherine Liu of the University of California, San Francisco, said in a statement. "The guidelines establish a framework to help physicians determine how to evaluate and treat uncomplicated as well as invasive infections. It's designed to be a living document, meaning the recommendations will evolve as new information and antibiotics become available."

MRSA is a type of Staphylococcus aureus or "staph" bacterium that becomes resistant to the antibiotics used to treat and has been a concern in hospitals for decades.