MRSA & Antibiotic resistant staph

[Astronuc]

This subject has popped up in the headlines recently. Apparently infections by MRSA (Methicillin resistant staphlococcus areus) are on the rise.

A Nasty Bug Breaks Out
Drug-resistant staph bacteria now stalk even students
http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/2007/10/18/a-nasty-bug-breaks-out.html

Hunter’s terrifying experience is not an isolated event. Once confined primarily to hospitals and healthcare institutions, antibiotic-resistant staph is now increasingly attacking healthy people in communities across the country. Schools nationwide have been reporting outbreaks: Last Monday, the MRSA-related death of a 17-year-old Virginia student—one of three such fatalities in recent weeks—spurred officials to close 21 area schools for cleaning; schools in other states have been evacuated for disinfection. Jaime Fergie, the pediatric infections specialist who treated Hunter at Driscoll Children’s Hospital, has observed exponential growth in such MRSA cases at the hospital in recent years, including three deaths since 2005.

"Young, healthy people who haven't been to a hospital since birth [are] getting sick," says Elizabeth Bancroft of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. Across all age groups, MRSA was the culprit behind more than 94,000 life-threatening infections and almost 19,000 deaths in the United States in 2005, researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated last week in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

When detected early, even resistant staph is very treatable, says Neil Fishman, a physician and spokesman for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. The first sign of infection can be boils, which sometimes resemble spider bites and tend to become red, hot, and tender, or larger skin abscesses. While severe cases like Hunter's are rare, suspicious wounds should get medical attention. It's during treatment that MRSA can reveal its most frightening side: Unlike common staph, it's impervious to all but a few antibiotics. Specialized drugs can still kill it, however.

. . .

Guarding Against Staph Infections
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15479947

Staph Killing More Americans Than AIDS
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15391478

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methicillin-resistant_Staphylococcus_aureus

I have also heard more frequently warnings about meningitis, particularly for children and young adults.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meningitis#Causes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neisseria_meningitidis

Be careful about sharing food and drink with acquaintances and wash hands periodically when in public places.

 

[jim mcnamara]

Giving this thread a bump. We cannot make it a sticky, but it is still good information.