Community-Associated (CA)-MRSA, antibiotic resistant staph infection,

WebMD

Small Outbreak of Zyvox-Resistant MRSA
Spanish Hospital Has Cases of MRSA That Won't Respond to Antibiotic of Last Resort
By Charlene Laino
WebMD Health NewsReviewed by Louise Chang, MDOct. 27, 2008 (Washington, D.C.) -- Call it an outbreak of the "superbug of superbugs." For what researchers believe is the first time, there's been a small cluster of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) that failed to respond to Zyvox. That's an antibiotic that can be used as a last resort when others fail.

Here is an update on the MRSA activity. There apparently are cases of this here in the US and in the UK as well. My local news station brought it to my attention this morning. The link is at the top.

Here is another interesting read from USAToday

USAtoday

MRSA usually is resistant only to penicillin-type drugs. But 10% of the 824 samples checked also could evade clindamycin, tetracycline, Bactrim or other antibiotics.

That is a paragraph from the middle of the report. There is a lot of the same old thing in there, but the important findings this week are what is being talked about in the above clip. 10% of the samples are resistant to some of the toughest antibiotics we have.

In the post above this, 12 reports of MRSA within a tight time period. 9 of those had the same strain, which marked the first time they were able to record a cluster verifing it being transfered from person to person. They were eventually able to find an antibiotic that worked, unfortunatly 1/2 of the patients did not make it.

I'm not sure if many know this... but I am more concerned about the Strep series of throat infections that are becoming resistant to 3rd generation penicillans. I have seen an increase in kids coming into the emergency room that require much stronger antibiotics.... including vancomycin. Not exactly the right thread for this... but it does go hand-in-hand with resistant bacteria.


I was aware of the Zyvox resistant Staph A., but it is quite rare at the current time, and from what I have read, only pops up in immunocompromised patients that are long-termers in the ICU's.

reply to post by Amniodarone


I was not aware of that, thanks for bringing it up. Do you know specifically what type of strep it is or any other information that would be of use so I can research it?



One of the things that worried me about that Strep strain they found in Mexico, is how quickly it was able to mutate. Couple that with it now being contagious, this is a real worrisome superbug. Am I mistaken or is all strep in general an intellegent warrior in the 'bug' area?

[edit on 30-10-2008 by mrsdudara]

Originally posted by Professor Dumbledore
You know, the problem is is that bacteria are becoming immune to antibiotics through natural selection, and this is because we are in a society that is "overprescribing" medications, and the people are failing to take all of their meds.

I contracted MRSA recently proly from getting my hair cut by a barber. After I had spent about 2k in hospital emergency room visits followups etc,..I found out that both the barber and her boyfriend had contracted it a few weeks before I did. It is very agressive, and at first I thought it was a spider bite, or a brown recluse bite.

But after a few days it didn't behave like a br spider bite and I held off going to the doctor for about 5 days.

Long story short, the dr. had to surgically cut it open and then put me on HUGE DOSES of three kinds of antibiotics.

I took them for about three days and they were so strong I had a bad reaction and it affected my heart and I ended up in the ER again.

I had to stop the antibiotics but thankfully due to the huge dose I was on it had already killed out the MRSA...and might I add me as well.

Be careful and wash your hands after touching unfamiliar areas or suspected dirty surfaces. And yes that includes after shaking hands and any kind of contact from sports.

Originally posted by mrsdudara
reply to post by Amniodarone

 

I was not aware of that, thanks for bringing it up. Do you know specifically what type of strep it is or any other information that would be of use so I can research it?



One of the things that worried me about that Strep strain they found in Mexico, is how quickly it was able to mutate. Couple that with it now being contagious, this is a real worrisome superbug. Am I mistaken or is all strep in general an intellegent warrior in the 'bug' area?

[edit on 30-10-2008 by mrsdudara]

Here is a study from the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy on Pencillian resistant Strep. It only concerns Strep Pneumoniae, but cross resistance has been confirmed in simple strep infections of the throat. As some of you know, its not the Strep throat that is so dangerous, its the body's reaction to the infection and the antibodies that it forms that is the danger. These antibodies are responsible for heart damage, kidney damage, and PANDUS. Having a MDR (Multi drug resistant) strain of Strep is particularly worrisome, especially for our children.

LINK

I'm actually surprised about how correct many of you are. People outside the field usually have opinions that are based on media fact, rather than the honest truth.

Bacteria is becoming resistant to our current therapies because pretty much we have been using deviations of the same chemical formula and by natural selectionn and evolution the bacteria are becoming smarter.

Major pharma research ended in the 70-80s era. There has not been a major breakthrough since, because no money has been pumped into ground breaking research on new drugs. Its too risky, and the major pharma co's are worried about one thing and one thing only, money and results. This is why money for cancer research is hard to come by from major pharmas, it is seen as too risky, with little reward. Not until recently, has money been dumped into actual research of new drugs, and this was only spurred by these resistant bugs. As humans, we procrastinate, it is in our nature. We wait til its nearly to late, before acting.

There is hope on the horizon although. Currently, I am working on a R&D project that is showing some (use the word very loosely) promise towards MRSA and decontamination of hospitals to lessen the opportunity to contract the bug.

Is there anything more you can tell us about this? I'm particularly interested in it. I know that they use many disinfectents, UV light and other countermeasures in hospitals... but of course these things are harmful to people as well.

Cant say much.

Not UV though, think hydrogen peroxide/ ozone and heating ducts.

When I was being treated for burns at UMC county hospital I contracted Staph Ducoccis, also known as MRSA, when they tried to insert a pic line in my groin. Originally, when I contracted the infection they tried to discharge me prematurely. A quick objection sent to the Administrator stopped that, which mandated they treat my condition on top of continuing to care for my 3rd degree burns.

They treated me for two weeks with an antibiotic known as Zyvox, supposedly the highest potency antibiotic around, I was placed in quaranteen during that time.

MRSA is no joke, as it can lead to other diseases such as polio and malaria. After two weeks (out of the four months I was hospitalized) they said I was cured and placed back into the 'main population'... Which interestingly, my new ward included HIV and AIDS patients.

What were they trying to do, give me HIV too?

Staph D is NOT MRSA. You might have had a fastidious form of a staph infection but MRSA is staph aureus.

And with staph, your immune system isn't lowered or compromised any more than with the common cold, or flu etc. Its not like AIDS where the immune system is severely compromised, so whatever ward you were placed in really shouldn;t have mattered. And on a side note, HIV isn't transmitted by aerosols, only by fluid exchange

reply to post by retroviralsounds
You seem to be knowledgeable regarding MRSA. Maybe you can answer a question for me. If you have had MRSA; does it make you an carrier?
I had it in December 2006. Then had surgery this past summer & my chart was flagged stating that I was a carrier. I an really concerned about this. I wld hate to know that my family or patients acquire this b/c of me. I take extra precautions for me & them. But.....

a carrier? With Staph? No. If you are a carrier you have an active infection. MRSA is not spread person to person, only through blood transfusions.

Staph divides appx every 30 minutes (1 cell into 2 cells). This rapid multiplication of the bug makes it pretty hard to just be a carrier. However, it is an opportunistic pathogen, and waits for an opening (cut) and a lowered immune system to strike.

Knowledgeable doesnt describe it haha. Probably too knowledgeable.

reply to post by retroviralsounds


Thanks that is what I was thinking. Just didn't understand why it was made an issue. What do you mean by to knowledgeable?

reply to post by retroviralsounds
I have first hand experience with MRSA. Someone very close to me somehow contracted the infection and the results were horrifying. When this first occured the doctors had no clue as to what the heck was going on.
As the infection spread it manifested itself with horrible and extraordinarily painful sores. One of the possible explanations for the infection prior to the correct diagnosis was necrotizing fasciitis, or flesh eating bacteria. No antibiotic was effective and I began to fear for my loved ones' life.
Finally the correct diagnosis came about and a course of Vancomicin was administered. Also surgery was required to remove a large portion of infected flesh. This person eventually recovered but has terrible scarring from the experience.
MRSA is an very serious problem that is getting worse every day and much more research is required to eradicate it.
Also it was my understanding that a person who has been infected with MRSA is a carrier for life.



[edit on 12-12-2008 by spookjr]

The CDC or Centres for Disease Control in the US has in september 08 just pumped Millions into funding on education for the community in trying to stop this spread:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today launched a national campaign to teach parents how to keep their children safe from skin infections caused by the potentially dangerous bacteria methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

MRSA, a type of staph bacteria that is resistant to certain antibiotics, has been in the news because it can cause severe infections in health care settings, such as hospitals. But parents may not be aware that it can also cause skin infections in otherwise healthy people who haven’t recently been hospitalized.

The National MRSA Education Initiative is aimed at highlighting specific actions parents can take to protect themselves and their families. CDC estimates that Americans visit doctors more than 12 million times per year for skin infections typical of those caused by staph bacteria. In some areas of the country, more than half of the skin infections are MRSA.

CDC

I can see a day soon with alcohol gels in nearly every building and community area.

And even though we have to stop this bug, by being over cautious dont we also reduce the strength of the next generations Immune System as they have been kept away from viral/bacterial agents when young that their body can then fight off, as it "knows" the invader later in life..

A double edged sword if you ask me.

Elf.

Originally posted by retroviralsounds
a carrier? With Staph? No. If you are a carrier you have an active infection. MRSA is not spread person to person, only through blood transfusions.

I am sorry but you are incorrect.

One of the main reasons everyone is concerned, is due to the fact that this is CONTAGIOUS.

If the infected person touches a surface then someone else touches that surface then they have that on their skin. NOW, it does wait until it can make contact with blood, but lets think about that a sec. If you have week old scab, a hangnail, a paper cut, or if you get a scratch, or cut, or hangnail, etc. you get infected.

Please do not try to make it sound like this is not contagious, because it very much is. That is why so many people are saying "wash your hands!"



The question about if you are a carrier for life is a very good question. I do not believe this has been brough up in this thread yet. I will work hard to find an answer with plenty of reading material to back it up.

reply to post by mrsdudara
Thanks, I appreciate that. It has concerned me since one of the top Neurosurgeons in Atlanta labeled me!
One of the things I wonder about is does ever having MRSA make you more or less susceptible to acquiring it again?

Here is a great link for some information MN State Health Dept.

There are two ways you can have MRSA.

You can have an active infection. An active infection means you have symptoms. This is usually aboil, a sore, or an infected cut that is red, swollen, or pus-filled.
You can be a carrier. If you are a carrier you do not have symptoms that you can see, but you still have MRSA bacteria living in your nose or on your skin. If you are a carrier, your doctor may say that you are colonized. These words - “carrier” and “colonized” - mean the same thing.
MRSA Diagnosis
Will I always have MRSA?

Many people with active infections are treated effectively, and no longer have MRSA.
However, sometimes MRSA goes away after treatment and comes back several times.
If MRSA infections keep coming back again and again, your doctor can help you figure out the reasons you keep getting them.

I will edit this post with some more info in a moment.

Ok, here is one from the CDC. It is about a football team that continued to have players come down with MRSA. It talks all about carriers and explains it well.
CDC

Here is another link. I did a serch on the CDC website on MRSA Carriers and found quite a few links. SO This link is to the page that gives you a list of websites to read.
CDC



Basicly, what I am reading is that a carrier is someone who has the MRSA infection in their nasal passages, but shows no symptoms. Therefore they never seek treatment. The infection will not go away unless it is properly treated. Since that person does not know, then they just continue spreading it around to everyone else even themselves. From what I have read, you do not build up an immunity to this like you would the chicken pox for example.

[edit on 14-12-2008 by mrsdudara]

No it is not contagious, look at the definition of the word. It cannot be given from one human being to another (I mean it can, but by just being in a room with someone with MRSA doesn't mean you will get it).

I have been doing research with it for probably 2-3 months now, and even despite personal protective equipment, hand washing etc. I will bet my life there is still MRSA I have been in contact with. I have also had many cuts, abrasions for the bug to enter and it has not.

Please do not make MRSA seem like it is more contagious than it really is... its no more than any other organism, in fact it is probably LESS than many more pathogenic bugs. Its an opportunistic pathogen, period, and most times a break in the bodies defenses isn't even the route of colonization. Many times MRSA colonizes in the nose, where it may remain and never spread infection, or cause symptoms.