Staphylococcus athletes are contracting this bug

[sportsguy3675]

Coincidentally enough, we had just be learning about microbiology in my bio class. Then, yesterday, I got my Sports Illustrated and noticed they had an article on it.

It turns out athletes are contracting this bug at an increasingly alarming rate. Anybody else heard anything about this, or know any more about it?

 

[Monique]

Probably the bug in question is methycillin resistant staphylococcus aureus, a restistant strain of the bacteria that is very hard to treat and thus of great concern. This bacterium is often present on healthy individuals and doesn't cause a threat, only when it comes into the bloodstream or in contact with an immunocomprised individual will it become a great hazard.

The fact that athletes are contracting the infection at an alarming rate, is most probably due to the fact that they have a lot of physical contact that facilitates the spread of the bacterium.. good physical hygiene would probably lower the incidence rate.

 

[Dayle Record]

MRSA is a anti-biotic resistant strain of bacteria, that developed in hospitals, and is a result of the over use of anti-biotics. This infection isn't a part of normal background bacteria, and can be significantly dangerous to healthy individuals. Nurses will pick this up, and find that their knees have gone, bad or some other joint has gone bad, because this bacteria has set up shop somewhere in their system. It is the bane of hospital existence. Gymnasiums, and equipment are an area of high human contact, and therefore an area of high bacterial population, especially on the handles of equipment used by hundreds of people in any week. Hand washing is the best defense against infection, and after going to the gym, be sure to wash up well. In Utah, a group of high school wrestlers at a big meet, came down with a herpetic infection of some sort, en masse. Contact, is contact. I think that athletes and the fitness minded may fall victim to common infections, because they are in the mindset that they are helping their physical selves, and forget about the high contact with fitness machines.

 

[hypatia]

Nearly all of us carry the Staphylococcus bacteria in/on our bodies. It causes everything from pimples to urinary infections.
It lives in mucus membranes and on our skin, and warm moist locker rooms are a ideal place to spread the bacteria.
Ditto monique...good physical hygiene