Drug-Resistant Bacteria [View All]

[RedEarth]

Last month, two Allegheny County Jail inmates died of what officials first believed was chemical inhalation.

In reality, it was a drug-resistant bacteria that doctors are seeing more and more. It's usually found in hospitals, but it's breaking out into the community. It's called a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection (MRSA). It poses a growing and potentially deadly threat.

Cases are growing so fast that it was the topic of an infectious disease conference. Dr. Nalini Rao, UPMC Shadyside: "It's predominately skin infection. It also produces a type of toxin which can cause necrosis, which means death of skin tissue, as well as cause necrotizing pneumonia."

The parents of Ricky Lannetti know that. He led his college football team to victory, then suddenly collapsed. Mother: "He was breathing like gasping, he wasn't breathing right, and I said, 'Something real bad is going on.' They didn't know what he had. They were as confused as I was."

Lannetti died within 24 hours. MRSA was his killer.

http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/health/4368293/detail.html