MRSA, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, a staph infection that is drug resistant, is rapidly spreading, and can kill. Several cases have been confirmed in the Chicagoland area. When we discussed this in a class this morning, several people were unfamiliar with this deadly infection, so I'm posting a link to the story here.
From the Houston Chronicle:
About 18,700 people die in this country each year from drug-resistant staph infections, according to a federal study released Tuesday — more deaths than the United States sees from AIDS annually.
The study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, scheduled to be published in today's edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association, is the first of its kind to track methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, known as MRSA.
Based on data from 2005, the agency estimated that about 94,400 patients nationwide suffer an invasive MRSA infection each year. And in the vast majority of cases, the infections originated in health care settings.
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2 comments:
This is a very alarming story.
One has to wonder why we are seeing these numbers now. These types of infections have been around years but not on this level. Health care specialist have been warning the general public for years about antibacterial soaps. The problem is antibacteria does not know the difference between good and bad bacteria so when these products are used they kill all bacteria. Our bodies need our natural bacteria to fight off infection which infact is destroyed by antibacterial products leaving room for bad bacteria to move in. You can decide for yourself but the experts at least in this case may have been right all along.
I agree with you, Thomas. This is alarming. I am completely blown away by the 18,000 death figure. I knew this was a problem, but I would have never guessed that about 50 people per day die of MRSA. Also, we can't forget the others who live, but go through countless surgeries. One woman on TV mentioned that her son had endured 13 operations due to MRSA.
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