Home → Research Centres → Cceb → Research → MRSA

Randomised controlled trial of tea tree oil for the control of MRSA in the hospital setting

Dr Meredith Caelli (UNSW), Emeritis Professor Richard Heller (University of Manachester), Dr John Attia

The inability to control the spread of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) within health care settings raises serious questions about the efficacy and effectiveness of traditional control measures and their increasing cost to the Australian community. Tea Tree Oil has been shown to be effective against a wide range of gram negative and gram positive bacteria in the laboratory setting, and recent investigations suggest that it is also effective against MRSA.

This randomised controlled trial will be the first trial undertaken amongst hospital patients colonised with MRSA and intends to establish whether Tea Tree Oil can be used as an alternative therapeutic agent to the current regimen of Triclosan and Mupirocin to control the spread of MRSA within the health care setting.

The study has been completed and the results will be made available soon…