Posted on 08/20/2006 12:52:40 AM PDT by nickcarraway
Bug bites are common in summer but a new super bug sweeping San Diego could have potentially fatal effects.
Local hospital emergency rooms are being jammed by patients who've been bitten by a strain of bacteria resistant to antibiotics.
Although the bites look they come from spiders, officials say they're much more harmful. Even worse: They're spreading so fast that the local emergency rooms are reporting at least one new infection per day.
The bacteria is called "metha-cillin resistant staph aureus'' -- or "MRSA" for short and while it looks harmless under a microscope, Scripps Mercy hospital epidemiologist Frank Myers III said it can potentially deadly.
"This particular strain is particularly nasty because it can make us sick it can cause skin infections and it's also resistant to many common antibiotics we use to treat it," Myers said.
According to Myers, the strain has been growing in strength in just the last few years.
"In 2002, we saw no cases of community associated MRSA. In 2006, we're now seeing over a case a day in our emergency room," Myers said.
MRSA is particularly fast growing but spreads even more rapidly -- and that's what worries Myers.
"We've seen family members have these boils be treated inappropriately, sharing towels or bars of soap and those can spread very effectively in household setting so instead of one case we now see an entire family," Myers said.
If left untreated, MRSA can disfigure and sometimes be fatal. The current strain in San Diego originated locally and is spreading throughout the community at a very high rate.
Although the strain is resistant to most antibiotics, Myers says some still do work but warns if you see a strange bite that doesn't seem to be healing to see a doctor right away.
"Ask [the doctor to] do a culture on it and then follow completely the guidelines for antibiotic use.
MRSA used to be spread a lot in locker rooms, especially among football players and wrestling teams. Now, Myers said babies are getting through a diaper rash and other family members are spreading it just by casual touch.
"In 2002, we saw no cases of community associated MRSA. In 2006, we're now seeing over a case a day in our emergency room," Myers said.
Jammed? Over a case case per day? More than one, but not quite two cases?
Illegals from Mexico have about 75% of capacity booked for the next few years.
In my experience, they have to quarantine these people and take a lot of precautions, so it's possible that it took a lot of effort by staff and made more than one bed unusable.
I forwarded this article to my children in San Diego.
Thanks for posting it.
First thing I do when I have a bite is swab the area with alcohol a few times a day.
Regrettably and outrageously, you're right.
btt
Had you heard about this prior to this article?
It isn't just San Diego; it's happening in Cincinnati, too.
Well, do they come from spiders, or not? It might be helpful to find out, but don't rely on the media to look beyond their noses.
From my understanding MRSA doesn't come from the spiders, it is a bacteria that is outside the body on a surface somewhere, that gets into the body thru the skin. That could be an open wound or a spider bite, anything that opens up the skin giving it access.
I did a little bit of research on MRSA because my friend got it when he stepped on a nail while fixing a roof. They don't know if the MRSA was on the roof or on his shoe or sock.
It is very dangerous and requires some kind of super antibiotic. In my friends case they had to put a tube thru his chest to make it easier to administer the antibiotic on a long term basis.
According to what i've read on the internet including the CDC website MRSA is one of the biggest infectious disease problems in our country right now. It is contagious. If you use the same towel or soap, etc of someone with MRSA you can get it too.
No, I sure did not. But since I get 99% of my news from FR ....
Right! Thanks for replying.
CDC is not publicly reporting a reasonable index of infection ratios for MSRA. Couldn't be that bad, right? I know Europe has had the problem for at least 25 yrs. Regardless, thanks for posting this info.
Sure have. We usually have two to three patients who are positive for Mersa every day on our 24 bed unit. Used to have perhaps one a month back in 2002
Lord have mercy.
Don't be so quick to blame spiders for those "spider bite" wounds
We had seen this infrequently, and "VRSA" (vancomycin-resistant staph) less so in the hospital setting. It occurred in chronically ill and ventilated patients. These patients were always on some level of barrier isolation, but the healthy faced little danger of contamination. It seems this has changed. If this is "out" in the community and can be transferred through casual contact, this is a big problem. I certainly hope they are working on this.
Until then, I will repeat what everyone's mother has been telling them for a very long time: WASH YOUR HANDS; and keep your fingers out of your mouth and eyes.
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