Staph Fatalities Alarming
This is from AOL Health News but it is also featured on Good Morning America today. The government says there has been “an alarming increase” in staph infections, and the number of deaths due to these common infections could soon be overtake death from AIDs infection.
My own father spent a year dying, fighting of MRSA, which is common in many hospitals – even here in Kuwait. The old are particularly vulnerable, but so are all those with open wounds, recent hospitalizations, and compromised immune systems.
CHICAGO (Oct. 17) – More than 90,000 Americans get potentially deadly infections each year from a drug-resistant staph “superbug,” the government reported in its first overall estimate of invasive disease caused by the germ.
Deaths tied to these infections may exceed those caused by AIDS, said one public health expert commenting on the new study. Tuesdays report shows just how far one form of the staph germ has spread beyond its traditional hospital setting.
The overall incidence rate was about 32 invasive infections per 100,000 people. That’s an “astounding” figure, said an editorial in Wednesday’s Journal of the American Medical Association, which published the study.
Most drug-resistant staph cases are mild skin infections. But this study focused on invasive infections – those that enter the bloodstream or destroy flesh and can turn deadly.
Researchers found that only about one-quarter involved hospitalized patients. However, more than half were in the health care system – people who had recently had surgery or were on kidney dialysis, for example. Open wounds and exposure to medical equipment are major ways the bug spreads.
In recent years, the resistant germ has become more common in hospitals and it has been spreading through prisons, gyms and locker rooms, and in poor urban neighborhoods.
The new study offers the broadest look yet at the pervasiveness of the most severe infections caused by the bug, called methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA. These bacteria can be carried by healthy people, living on their skin or in their noses.
Your best protection? Wash your hands frequently, and stay out of hospitals.
You can read the rest of the article HERE.
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Update: from today’s Pensacola Journal: (thank you, Law N Order Man)
Staph outbreak plagues jail
Thyrie Bland
tbland@pnj.com
The Escambia County Jail is battling an outbreak of potentially deadly drug-resistant staph infections among inmates.
Thirty-three cases of methicillan-resistant staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, were reported to health officials in August and September. MRSA is a bacteria resistant to many antibiotics and those infected by the “super bug” can suffer flesh-eating damage.
Five other non-MRSA staph infections were reported in September at the jail, which holds an average 1,915 inmates each day.
“An outbreak of any size is a concern for us,” said Molly Payne-Hardin, spokeswoman for the Escambia County Health Department.
Capt. Brenda Chromiak, a jail supervisor, said jail and medical staff are doing all they can to try to prevent the spread of staph infections, including cleaning jail facilities, educating inmates and meeting with health officials.
Thanx for the info,, i never knew about this!
My second cousin died of a staph infection he contracted after he had surgery in the States. It’s very scary. Also, be wary of manicures/pedicures. If possible, bring your own files etc. to the salon.
That’s horrible. Stay safe! :O
Vixenfatale – scary that it can even spread from surfaces. Be careful what you touch in public places, and wash your hands!
Stinni – I am so sorry to hear about your cousin. It is scary, and it is sad. I wonder how many deaths occur from this staph infection that are claimed to be something else?
You are right about manicure/pedicures. I used to love pedicures, now I do my own. . . even with your own equipment, there is still the soaking tub, and exposure to the germs/infections of others.
3baid – You too! And wash your hands!