Once you have MRSA, does it stay with you for life? Can you kill the staph infection with antibiotic's ?

My sister is studying to be a nurse, and she told me that if a person is infected with MRSA, that it stays with that person for life, just like Hepatitis C . Even if they are treated for the illness, there are no antibiotics that will fully kill the disease. If the person gets tested for MRSA, after they are treated, it will show up as a positive on the test for having the disease. I'm not trying to doubt my sister, but Is this true or false ?

MRSA bacteria can show up in many places - in urine, respiratory secretions, the nasal cavity, the blood and in wound beds and skin. It is not necessarily for life. If prompt and aggressive treatment is implemented, it's often cured. Depending on the specific site of the infection, this can be a combination of topical treatment, oral meds and/or IV antibiotics. In my hospital, after an MRSA treatment protocol has been completed, usually for 14 days, rescreening starts 24 hours after the completion. Cases that are successfully treated will have cultures that are negative for MRSA.

If, however, it is undiagnosed or undertreated - and this is more likely to happen with CA-MRSA infections (community-acquired MRSA) then with HA-MRSA (hospital-associated MRSA), it will likely colonize and become a permanent condition. In this case, a chronic carrier isn't harmed by it but can transmit. But I should add that a few of my patients who had previously colonized have been retreated according to the protocol and have been cleared.

If your sister wishes to debate this with me, I'd be happy to take her on.

MRSA is a staph aureus infection that is resistant to beta lactams(penicillin and cephalosporins). People most likely to get MRSA infection are those that are inpatients in the hospitals, have low immuno system. MRSA must be treat very quickly else its leads to death. It is treated successfully with the antibiotics Vancomycin or Linezolid.

http://symptomsmrsa.com
This site will probably answer all of your questions. I believe there are treatment options in most cases

Vancomycin FIANALLY worked for me.