Easy spreading MRSA

Interesting note in this article from the Baylor College of Medicine, based on this study:

The form of MRSA that is acquired in the community spreads more easily than that usually caught in the hospital...

It stands to reason that MRSA would be tougher than normal bacteria. These are bacteria that have withstood the onslaught of antibiotics for whatever reason and now running strong and free. The researchers are looking into the question of why these bacteria spread so easily and speculate that it might be a special gene these buggers have. The study continues.

In the meantime, it behooves us all to live in a bubble and breath only fresh air. Or, lacking that, take measures like use anti-microbial hands washes and towels, and clean your gear regularly.

Take Equipment Home

This is a heck of an MRSA outbreak in Western Maryland. A couple of football players are in the hospital and others are spending time at the doctors. Not good.

The board of education has responded, of course, making sure that everyone knows it's not a big deal -- no reason for panic. Seems like a big deal to me, but that's another story.

What's interesting to me is how the school responded:

The football team locker room has been sanitized, and the coaches have instructed the players to take equipment home to be properly cleaned...

For what it's worth, sanitizing the locker room is probably a good idea. But what does the bit about the coaches instructing the players to take equipment home to be properly cleaned mean? We're talking heavily padded shoulder pads and helmets. How are people at home supposed to clean them? Seems like the gear should be taken to a Clean Gear center for real sanitizing. It's good to start somewhere, to be sure.

Also of note, a health officer is quoted at saying:

MRSA can be contracted through person-to-person contact or person-to-object contact...

Amazing, a doctor who actually aknowledges that gear just might be part of the problem. Thank you. Now let's educate people on how to keep it clean.

I don't get it!

Why do sports programs, especially football, not do a better job of fighting staph and MRSA in their programs? The daily feed of Google Alerts about football and staph infections is packed throughout football season. Here's a mini sample:

Staph Infection Sidelines Some Area High School Football Players
WTOC - Savannah,GA,USA
Some of the Benedictine football players won't be hitting the gridiron this Friday, until the MRSA staph infection is gone. "We ...

LC's 'circus' not big tent for placekickers
Alexandria Town Talk - Alexandria,LA,USA
Louisiana College football coach Dennis Dunn described his team's kicking game against ... handles the kicking in Lauve's absence, developed a staph infection on ...

Stayton squeaks by Huskies, 8-6, in defensive battle
Sweet Home New Era - Sweet Home,OR,USA
... Sipe got the start at quarterback because Kyle Pettit had a staph infection on ... long, time-consuming drives that are typical of Sweet Home football teams," said ...

A few things come to mind when reading this:

-- The athletes do not like missing games due to a preventable disease

-- The coaches would rather have their athletes on the field

-- Fans are unhappy when the teams lose because star players are out, likely reducing attendance and costing the teams gate revenues

There are a lot of steps that athletic directors, coaches and equipment managers can take to reduce staph. The volume of headlines suggests that they are not being as proactive as they could be in addressing a serious problem.

Curse of the Superbugs

I don't know why, but I just love this headline. It sounds like a great sequel to The Mummy series. I can just see Brenden Fraser being chased by a swirling horde of Superbugs.

Unfortunately, MRSA is no joke. This editorial in the Times of Malta entitled Curse of the Superbugs does a great job of detailing the problem. Also noteworthy is that MRSA is a global problem. It would seem that a common trait of western medicine is overuse of antibiotics regardless of where it is practiced. Overuse of antibiotics inevitablely leads to creation of superbugs.

Watch out.

MRSA in action

For those who haven't experienced the effects of MRSA, here's a graphic example of what it looks like. No fun.

A Dozen MRSA Cases Per Day...

At Doctor's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, MRSA cases have increased from one case a week to a dozen cases per day. As noted by one of the doctors, it's an epidemic. Apparently recommended preventative measures such as wash your hands often ARE NOT WORKING! It's time for the medical establishment to wake up and start taking this seriously. There is a very real chance that you can walk into a hospital for something minor like an ingrown toe nail or a bad cold and walk out with a serious, life-threatening disease.

Antibiotics feed MRSA

I took my daughter to the doctor yesterday to get something for her acne. She (my daughter) is thinking Accutane. I'm thinking there's got to be something else -- something less toxic. What she got was less toxic all right. Antibiotics. But let's think a moment about what is helping to fuel the rise in MRSA worldwide -- widespread overuse of antibiotics. Your kid gets an ear infection, what does the pediatrician prescribe? You betcha -- antibiotics. Now, I'm not saying there's not a legitimate need for them. They are a wonder drug afterall. But they are overused. What happened to letting a child simply get over an infection? I welcome others who've had such experiences to tell us your stories about antibiotics -- pro and con. And I'd love to know if you've found a non-antibiotic method for curing infections. This is the sort of stuff western medicine won't tell you, but that needs to be known.

Sammy and Barry

A group of doctor bloggers are looking at the recent infections in major league baseball players including Sammy Sosa and Barry Bonds. Comment indicates the docs aren't really sure what's causing the infections.

Big rise in MRSA-linked deaths

The UK is ahead of North America on the MRSA front. And not in a good way. There MRSA is a major, growing health problem. According to this report, the superbug was cited in 44 deaths last year in Northern Ireland alone.

Antimicrobial sporting goods

Tracy Boyd who writes the Health News column for the Detroit News had this to say about our friends at CleenFreek:

Sporting goods products help defend against bacteria infections
A new patented line of sporting goods is designed to prevent the growth of bacteria, fungus, mold and mildew and inhibit odors. CleenFreek sporting goods include sport towels, exercise mats and other sports equipment that contain built-in antimicrobial protection. A towel is $14.99; a small yoga mat is $24.99. For more information or to order, visit www.sportshygiene.com or call (800) 591-3585.

Identity Theft and MRSA

I was thinking about the parallels between MRSA and Identity Theft when I saw the cover story of this week's Newsweek about the latter. Both are looming problems that we're not quite sure how to deal with effectively. And they can hit anyone.

But that's where the similarity ends. While ID theft is a nuisance, few people have been wiped out as a result of having their ID nabbed. I should know. It happed to me last year and it really wasn't a big deal. I made a few calls, sent a couple of letters, put a block on my credit access and the problem went away without any repercussions.

MRSA, or just plain staph, is a whole different story. This Florida high school wrestler lost a year due to staph infection in his leg and lost out on a likely college scholarship. No mention of how he got the infection.