Drug-Resistant Bacteria

[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

[truthisfreedom]

1. scary. sounds sci-fi!

[megatherium]

48. that's exactly what I thought: wasn't that an old X-files episode? nt

[Name removed]

2. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[tubbacheez]

3. and not with that anti-bacterial soap, either.

hot water and regular soap will do just fine.





or use that gelled alcohol sanitizer.

[Selteri]

4. This has been obvious and worried about for over 20 years.

It just has been becomming more common now.

When you kill 99.6% of the germs those that survive are generally stronger and more resistant. Overusing antibiotics is the same thing, every time I get a cold or anything they shove a week or two of them down my throat... normally, and normally I don't take them unless I have something else, like an infection or a very good reason to take them.

[reprobate]

14. It's called evolution. Organinsms adapt to environment to survive.

Got it, biblethumpers?

[VegasWolf]

16. I guess they will claim that it's Intelligent Design Evolution. n/t

[thinkingwoman]

17. why see a doctor

for just a cold in the first place?

I only go to a doctor if I have a secondary infection. Then, and only then, the meds are warranted.

If I don't need meds, there's no reason to waste the money on a doctor visit so that he can tell me I have a cold.

[hue]

5. MRSA isn't the only one...

There are many more antibiotic bacteria that have evolved; Vancomycin resistant enterococcus, Multidrug resistant Klebsiella (a pneumonia), drug resistant pseudomonas, etc.
These bacteria evolved primarily because people took some of the antibiotic, but when they felt better they stopped taking the rest in the bottle. Hence the bacteria was exposed to the drug, but the ones that sporulated and lived were the ones resistant to the drug.

A new drug was developed five years ago to combat MRSA (Zyvox) and MRSA now shows resistance to that drug.

http://www.thesahara.net/mrsa.htm

[unkachuck]

6. do you, or anyone else know....

....the amount of antibiotics you've taken over the course of your life, alters the effectivenes of antibiotics on these bacteria?

....I know people in general, and the food industry, have abused antibotics for years....but if you get one of these super-bugs and let's say, you've never used antibotics in your life, would the likelhood of a good recovery for you be greater than for someone who has used antibiotics many times?

[Sufi Marmot]

8. Off the top of my head I'd say it probably wouldn't make a difference...

I don't know for sure, though... :shrug:

[hue]

13. It would not make a difference...

because the bacteria itself is already resistant to the drugs. It has evolved developing resistance. Antibiotics have only been around for 60 years (which is like the beginning of the universe for generations of bacteria).

Also some antibiotics work in very different ways than other antibiotics so effectiveness varies due to the type of antibiotic. In battling MRSA some doctors give several kinds of antibiotics so one will attack the bacteria's cell membrane while another will interupt the bacteria's ability to reproduce. Other treatments are being developed, for example , coating the ulcer with a honey mixture--which can be surprisingly effective for local ulcers as honey is one substance that never spoils.

[SnowGoose]

27. remember that these microbes are evoloving

in other individuals, before they get to you. So your chances of catching a resistant strain are probalby not significantly influenced by you taking lots of antibiotics.

HOWEVER.

More and more research is emerging that antibiotics have undesirable effects on allergies. It works like this: the normal, healthy bacteria that exist in a mutualistic relationship with you (in your gut, as well as other places like the female mammary ducts) can be killed by the antibiotics, just like the bad bugs. But they actually do important jobs, some of which are related to regulation of T-cells, so killing them off (without replacing them) can disrupt normal tolerance, causing your immune system to react inappropriately to various stimuli, resulting in allergies and asthma.

This is becoming a hot area in immunology lately.

So even aside from the emergence of drug-resistant pathogens, overuse of antibiotics is bad for you.

'Goose

[kk897]

53. I think this happened to me, Goose.

I never had allergies that I was aware of. Last year, I got a sinus infection and ended up taking four courses of antibiotics, one for a month. After that I was tested for allergies, and--you guessed it, I'm now *severely* allergic to every inhaled allergen they tested. Topped out the scales. The allergist said she'd never seen someone "light up" with the test like I did. Even had reactions to the control scratches. Within the last year I was also diagnosed hypothyroid--Hashimoto's, which is an autoimmune disease. I can't say there's a direct correlation, but I can say that things have gone WAY downhill for me, healthwise, since I took all those antibiotics. Don't want to engage in a "post hoc ergo propter hoc" logical fallacy, but I found your comment VERY interesting, to say the least.

Thanks!

[gkhouston]

55. Actually, I've got Hashi's, too and once they

got the thyroid meds properly balanced my allergies went away, to my great surprise. The year or two before I finally got the diagnosis was hell, though -- I'd even gotten to the point where I was mildly asthmatic.

If you're still feeling like crap, you might want to consider the possibility that your hypothyroidism isn't being fully treated. Some doctors seem to think that getting you anywhere in or even close to the "normal" range is good enough, while others will spend time tweaking your meds. Finding a doctor who cares about how you feel is worth the search.

[kk897]

60. Yes, I know about the whole hypo controversy

Maybe you've seen the about.com site on it; Mary S.-something wrote a book or two on it. I know my last level was a 2, so that's pretty good...but you're right about finding the right doctor. thanks for your concern!

[gkhouston]

61. yes, I've read about some of the stuff on about.com

but unfortunately, I got to live it first. :o Things got better. Sounds like you're getting better, too but damn, it's a slow process. (And it doesn't help that you still have the allergies from hell. x( )

[gkhouston]

56. oh, and the "reactions to the control scratches"

was there a preservative in the testing solution? Because that happened to me many, many years ago. Oh, the itching was murderous and lasted for about 10 days... ;(

[kk897]

62. Hm. I think the controls were saline...

but, as it turns out, I *was* allergic to the preservative in the serum they gave me when I started immunotherapy. It took them a couple of weeks to find a source that would make it without the preservative, and now I'm on week four of the therapy. They're saying I'll probably have to take shots the rest of my life, and I might not even experience relief for a year, they're so bad. Yet I don't have hay fever or any of the other symptoms--I just get stuffy. Apparently that's enough to cause the horrible sinus infections I had last year.

Hm. Makes you wonder, though, don't it?

Sinus infection resistent to antibiotics > four long courses of antibiotics > severe allergies and other immune dysfunctions > and this is *causing* my sinus infections?

Interesting tautology here. Sounds like many others around the nation are experiencing a similar line of illogical reasoning, with much more serious and deadly afflictions.

I recall reading that chronic sinusitis is the most common disease in America. Allergies seem to be getting worse and worse. And gee, studies are showing that nearly all Americans have the chemicals used in manufacturing polycarbonate plastic and the compound in Teflon in their bloodstream. The environment's going haywire... more and more odd viruses pop up in Asia and Africa...

I guess there's something in the air; what it is ain't exactly clear.

[SnowGoose]

57. I wouldn't want to pull a "Bill Frist" on you

and diagnose you from afar, but I can share one thing that *might* be of use to you.

Although there's a lot in the immunology community about it, I became aware of this body of work a couple of months ago when a Postdoctoral Fellow in Immunology gave a talk here at the University of Michigan School of Public Health.

She was doing this "breaking tolerance" thing in mice. She'd give them either antibiotics or saline and later see how they reacted to an allergen (fungal, in this case). The other part of the study I found interesting was where she tried to "restore" the mice to how they were before the antibiotics. She did this by giving them back the normal gut microbes *and it worked*. She went on to point out how here in the west (particularly the US) we not only overuse antibiotics, which kill the 'good' microbes, but also we *don't* eat many of the probiotic foods which are common around the world (examples are things like kefir, live yogurt, live sauerkraut, kimchee, and so on).

So, in a nutshell, she's suggesting that after you wipe out the 'good' microbes with antibiotics, you can at least re-seed your digestive tract with foods that contain live cultures of the beneficial organisms.

I wouldn't claim this will help you, but may be a healthy thing in general - I've started having a little kefir every couple of days.

I really hope you get better soon - best of luck.

[kk897]

59. SnowGoose, thanks!

You know, it's not like the probiotics would hurt to try in any case. Many people eat those foods or take pills to maintain good health. I'd guess as long as you don't go overboard, why not?

I'd read about probiotics in connection with another condition I've got...forget which one as I've developed so many so rapidly and have done so much reading (it's not like I'm at death's door or anything--just lots of weird immune-related things going on making me slighly miserable)... I'm going to give it a shot!

Thanks so much.

[lojasmo]

63. Yes, it absolutely will do so.

The bacteria become resistent to antibiotics by sharing plasmid rings with other bacteria that are already resistent.

It is especially problematic when people take a course that is not a complete course, leaving resistent organisms to multiply.

[doc05]

64. Nope

[kineneb]

7. let's not forget the biggie- TB

There are a bunch of MDR(mulitiple-drug-resistant)varieties of TB. They have been breeding in the world's prisons. My friend, a contagious-diseases nurse, gave me a copy of "Timebomb" by Reichman & Tanne. A bit sensational, but really scary. And TB can be spread by anyone. (Warning to all you very rich out there: all the locks and gates won't protect you.)

[OldLeftieLawyer]

9. In December, one of my paralegals

came in to my office all beside herself and upset.

She had gone to her dermatologist because of a small thing on her nose. Turned out it was tuberculosis.

Tuberculosis of the nose.

Yep, it can land anywhere.

We all marched out of there and straight to Public Health to get checked. We were all OK, but she's still out.

Of all things ...............

[Liberty Belle]

46. could that be what's wrong with shrub?

others here posted pics of him with a big scab on his face today.

[rainbow4321]

10. Dallas jail is full of MRSA--as is Texas

http://www.dallasnews.com/s/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/030105dnmetjailbug.8b64d.html

Dallas County Jail health officials treated nearly 700 cases of a drug-resistant and potentially dangerous staph infection during a recent three-month period and warn that limited resources are thwarting efforts to prevent further spread of the bacterium in the community.

For more than a decade, jail health officials have been battling, with little success, thousands of cases of boils and sores on inmates caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA. From November through January, health workers at the jail treated 682 confirmed or suspected cases of MRSA.

In addition to inmates, the infection afflicts the jail staff and their families. Since February 2002, Dallas County's employee health clinic has treated 123 cases among Sheriff's Department staff members.

Texas has become a hot spot for MRSA outbreaks, a researcher with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in December. Parkland Memorial Hospital has seen a steady rise in infections since 2000, handling 364 cases that year, compared with 1,233 in 2004.

[rfkrfk]

58. mrsa , same as the orange crud that grows everywhere

or not?

[tedzbear]

11. I have three friends who have developed antibiotic resistant cellulitis...

2 ended up in the hospital for a month while they kept trying new antibiotics that wouldn't work. One almost had to have his legs amputated.
The third is sick at home and on her second antibiotic and she's not getting better.
This is in Los Angeles.

:scared:

[Sgent]

12. My suggestions...

1) No antibiotics in animals period.

2) No "antibacterial" soaps, etc.

3) No perscribing of these things unless:

- Culture with sensitivity is done
- In case where a culture is not possible or reasonable, patient must be immunocompromised or very sick with imminent potential of permanent harm.
- No antibiotics with children unless administered IM/IV.
- Any long term treatment with antibiotics must be agreed to by a physician -- no PA or NP perscribing.

[nolabels]

22. Most of that won't happen till a bad out break of some incurable..........

KILLS HUNDREDS of MIllIONS of PEOPLE.

The corporate-my-bucks-first mentality always trumps everything till things get ugly.

[amazona]

24. no antibiotics in animals period?

What if it's your pet that gets sick?

There is no reason that antibiotics can't be given responsibly to pets. After all, we can make sure that they finish taking the prescribed round of medicine. Much of the problem has been caused by people being prescribed a 10 day round of antibiotic. They take it a couple days, feel better, don't take the rest, so bacteria remains in their system that can grow and reproduce.

Used correctly, antibiotics are a valuable tool for animal and human disease.

I would not have survived childhood without the use of oral antibiotic. I had scarlet fever. My best friend would have died also. He had the same.

No antibiotics for animals and no oral antibiotics for children will kill plenty of animals and children. And you can't always wait for the culture.

The conservation movement is a breeding ground of communists
and other subversives. We intend to clean them out,
even if it means rounding up every birdwatcher in the country.
--John Mitchell, US Attorney General 1969-72

[hue]

26. You have good points...

The antibiotic for scarlet fever (streptococcus) is still the same as it was 30 yrs ago--penicillin. Streptococcus has not become resistant to it. And scarlet fever can worsen; cause death as well as other life threatening conditions such as rheumatic heart disease.

[Sgent]

36. The scarlet fever

antibiotic does not have to be given orally -- it can be injected in a long acting form. (Penicillin G has been around for decades).

Although you were compliant, the thought behind the no oral antibiotics was more that it would discourage parents from requesting antibiotics...

I agree its not a perfect solution.

[Horse with no Name]

39. It's also cruel to children

Judicious prescribing will suffice.
Are you aware of some of the dangers from IM/IV injections?
Cellulitis, blood clots, nerve damage, tissue and muscle damage, etc.
Why put a child through a very painful injection of Penicillin when oral medication has shown to be just as effective?
Education is the key, not unnecessary invasive medical procedures.

[Sgent]

47. Don't kid yourself

There are many cases where IM injections are more appropriate than oral -- even when they both have the same efficacy.

For instance, first line antibiotic treatment by all the ENT's here for complicated otitis media/serouses is Rocephin IM.

First line treatment for GC/Clamydia in public health atmospheres is IM, as compliance is much higher.

If there's a question of compliance, esp. with a pill that must be taken multiple times per day, it's better to administer it IM than orally.

Finally, as to the side effects, its probably less dangerous to have an injection in the office than take an oral drug at home. I've never seen a complication from the needle stick other than soreness/pain. I've seen multiple cases of anaphlyaxis in both oral and IM injections -- at least IM they are somewhere where they can be helped.

[amazona]

43. yes I was treated with penicillin

I'll never forget it. Those pills taste nasty going down! But it saved my life, believe me, I'm grateful.

The conservation movement is a breeding ground of communists
and other subversives. We intend to clean them out,
even if it means rounding up every birdwatcher in the country.
--John Mitchell, US Attorney General 1969-72

[BrklynLiberal]

28. No antibiotics in animals used for food.

[smirkymonkey]

38. Maybe he/she meant no antibiotics in the animals we EAT.

or not? Don't know but I always get organic, antibiotic free meat whenever possible.

[tavalon]

49. I'm not a mindreader

but I think the other poster meant chickens and cows for the most part, as they are the ones fed megadoses of antibiotics so that they can safely be overcrowded in filthy situations.

[xpunkisneatx]

65. Well, thats a little rude...

Why can't a PA or NP prescribe antibiotics? I happen to be going through a PA program and they fully educate us on the pharmacology of the drugs we prescribe. PA's and NPS are fully qualified to prescribe long term antibiotics.

[earthboundmisfit]

15. Another contributing factor to the emergence of resistant strains

is when patients do not take the full round of their prescribed antibiotic. Happens all the time - when the patient begins to feel better, they quit taking the antibiotic, creating a golden opportunity for evolution of any remaining bacteria.

And re tuberculosis - and I swear I'm not a xenophobe - one of the big problems with immigrants entering this country illegally is DISEASE. Another area of concern should be imported produce, much of which is allowed across the border with minimal or non-existent checks. We do screen livestock between countries for disease, but who knows how effectively, and if we screen for enough diseases.

One more thing, has anyone here had any experience with the dirt and dust-borne fungal respiratory infection Coccidioidomycosis, commonly called Valley Fever? It's incidence seems to be spreading, and I'm wondering if the infectious spores may be carried on imported produce... Scary stuff, and incurable.

[amazona]

20. good point

The huge Newscastle's Disease outbreak that caused the slaughter of millions of chickens in southern California a short while back is believed to be traceable to fighting game cocks brought in by illegal immigrants who did not put their birds through proper quarantine before entering the U.S. The economic repercussions were huge -- millions of birds lost, millions of dollars lost.

I associate Coccidioidomycosis with game birds as well, unless I have it confused with something else? Will google this and see what I find.

The conservation movement is a breeding ground of communists
and other subversives. We intend to clean them out,
even if it means rounding up every birdwatcher in the country.
--John Mitchell, US Attorney General 1969-72

[Patiod]

21. Could be Valley Fever is up just b/c pop is rising so quickly

in the Phoenix area.

But this isn't carried by people or livestock or product. The spores are right there in the earth, so almost everyone is exposed and about 1/3 of people who live in the area for an extended period test positive for it.

(I was doing research on systemic fungal infections for work, and that was one of them)

[Robeysays]

23. yep, i live in Tempe

it is up because population is up in the valley also no one out side the valley has ever come in contact with it, my uncle came down form SF and almost as soon as he got of the plane he caught it. whereas i lived here my whole life and never got it. here in the valley we also have that valley amoeba that is just found here, i doesn't do any thing but if your not from here and ketch it, you will be out of the count for a couple days.

[Eloriel]

18. Our own Nostamj died of one of these, didn't he?

I don't have the link, but the family was requesting donations to an org that promoted early detection of some necrosis disease. Maybe someone else has the link (or can search for it -- I'm a little pressed for time).

[tjdee]

35. Yes, that was the first time I heard the word "necrosis".

I don't know that it was was from these bacteria--I don't know though. Would be interested in more info if anyone's got it.

[Horse with no Name]

42. I can't find the link

but I think it was necrotizing fascitis.
I could be wrong though.

[amazona]

44. you are correct

This cruel disease took Jim Henson as well.

In theory it can be treated with antibiotics but in practice it is apparently not uncommon to think you have flu and that you will shrug it off if you rest at home.

Seems we're damned if we do, damned if we don't. Nostamj if I recall his last post correctly thought he had flu and a sprain and was resting. I think Jim Henson thought he had flu? So by assuming they had the viral disease and didn't need to/maybe shouldn't go to the doctor for antibiotic they maybe put themselves at greater risk.

It is so hard to know what to do. We can't run to the doctor every time we have cold or flu. And yet we are not ourselves doctors and we don't always really know what why we feel ill.

We don't want to create antibiotic resistant strains to anything but we don't want to die either.

It is a dilemma.

The conservation movement is a breeding ground of communists
and other subversives. We intend to clean them out,
even if it means rounding up every birdwatcher in the country.
--John Mitchell, US Attorney General 1969-72

[tavalon]

50. It was Beta Strep in his case n/t

[hue]

19. Multidrug resistant TB evolved with HIV

Those infected with HIV are open to TB infection and active disease due to the compromised immune system rendered by HIV (T cells). In third world countries, Africa for example the two illneses often go together. Hence many times the patient will have multiple infections. TB is becoming resistant to multiple drugs as those with HIV take many and various kinds of drugs.

http://www.lungusa.org/site/pp.asp?c=dvLUK9O0E&b=35815

http://www.aidsmap.com/en/docs/DC775E09-7FC5-4444-8B29-F931315651D8.asp

Recently a physician diagnosed a person with drug resistant HIV in New York City. That person admitted to having sex with at least 11 people.

http://www.retrovirology.com/content/2/1/14

[Dark]

25. My boss at work is a hypocondriac. She is very nice, but always

believes that she is ill with something. She says the doctors won't give her antibiotics anymore.

[BrklynLiberal]

29. Here is apost about this from March1 that referenced Dallas County Jail -

in this thread there is a link to a Feb article in MEN's Health that explained that MRSA is affecting healthy young men thru gyms, and even some professional athletes are being hit by it.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=1274926#1275083

The article in MENS HEALTH has a lot more info than that Pittsburgh article:
The Killer in the Locker Room
http://www.menshealth.com/cda/article/0,2823,s1-3-67-0-1995-2-4-2,00.html

<snip>

Monitor Your Staph
Until MRSA came along, the game plan of Staphylococcus aureus was pretty simple: If four guys play two-on-two hoops, statistically one of them will be a staph carrier, since more than 30 percent of all humans have the bacteria in their noses at any time. You could be a carrier your entire life, though, and never know it: For staph to become a problem, you'd have to be carrying a strain that's strong enough to cause infection and have it come in contact with a break in someone's skin. Ironically, that skin could be your own--a carrier can infect himself, by wiping his nose and then touching an open cut.

"What's new is that some of the strains carry a toxin that destroys white blood cells," says Frank Lowy, M.D., a professor of medicine at Columbia University school of medicine who is studying staph colonization. "If you get staph under your skin, a white blood cell eats the bug, and that's the end of it. But this bug easily kills the white blood cell, which attracts more white
blood cells. Eventually, a pus pocket builds up, allowing the bacteria to survive."

Like most of its contagious cousins, MRSA also has three great loves: humidity, skin cuts, and a weakened immune system. The opportunity for infection increases dramatically when these factors come together, perfect-storm-style, as they do in a gym. Locker rooms are damp and steamy, that game of two-on-two can lead to cut lips and scraped knees, and an exhausting workout temporarily lowers the body's resistance. Add to that workout gear that may not have been washed in days and you have the bacterial version of the Playboy grotto.

"If you're active and do anything that would traumatize the skin, you're potentially at risk," says David Gilbert, M.D., a past president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA). "I've had professionals, lawyers, doctors, who have all gotten boils from this strain." Fortunately, none died, but they all required stronger antibiotics than Dr. Gilbert is comfortable giving--not because of what they'll do to the patients but because of what they're doing to the bacteria. That's the catch-22: Powerful antibiotics are needed to kill MRSA, but using them will eventually create an even more lethal version of the bug.

Defunct Drugs
"It's natural selection at work," says Dr. Lowy. "There will always be mutant bacteria the antibiotic can't kill, and these may develop into a more virulent strain." And unfortunately, as antibiotics have become more prevalent--not just in doctors' offices but also in our food supply--we've sped up this evolution. For example, methicillin is the big-gun antibiotic that came after penicillin, but its current effectiveness is summarized in MRSA's name: methicillin-resistant.

We still might be holding staph infections in check if pharmaceutical companies hadn't shifted their R&D focus; instead of constantly trying to concoct updated antibiotics, says Dr. Gilbert, they turned more of their attention toward erectile dysfunction, hypertension, and heart disease. The IDSA reports that, as of 2002, "Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Abbott Laboratories, Eli Lilly and Company, and Wyeth all halted or substantially reduced their anti-infective discovery efforts." Over the past 30 years, in fact, only three new classes of antibiotics have been developed, and resistance to one emerged before the FDA had approved it.

Nevertheless, it's hard to fault the drug companies, Dr. Gilbert says. "Why spend a billion dollars on a drug that a patient will take for only 2 weeks, when you can spend the same money on a product he'll take for the rest of his life?" On top of that, antibiotics can quickly become obsolete. Pfizer could take 10 years to get an anti- biotic developed and approved, only to see it become defunct in 2. It's doubtful the penis will ever become resistant to Viagra.

Right now, the "drug of last resort" in MRSA cases is Vancomycin. Already, there have been three cases of Vancomycin-resistant MRSA. "That's very troubling," says Dr. Lowy. "The genetic information for this resistance can be transferred from one strain to another. And if that happens, we're facing a potential crisis over the next 5 years." There are other antibiotics, but they're not always available and can't beat all infections, warns Dr. Lowy. "Vancomycin is our workhorse, but it doesn't have the legs for a long race."

<snip>

All Washed Up
Surprisingly, the greatest source of hope in the fight against MRSA may come from the most common defense: soap and water. By making sure to wash their hands thoroughly and by keeping all cuts well disinfected and bandaged, most people can avoid spreading or contracting MRSA. "It's not going away," Dr. Lowy says, "but we have a chance of slowing it until new antibiotics, or even a vaccine, are created."

The NFL has begun sponsoring hygiene workshops for players and is encouraging trainers to disinfect hot tubs and showers regularly, according to Steve Antonopolus, ATC, head of the NFL's Trainers' Association. "There's a potential for MRSA to be everywhere in the locker room," he says. "Around trash cans, in cleats--everywhere."

Meanwhile, the IDSA has been lobbying Congress to treat MRSA like a terrorist threat. It proposes a "10 Most Wanted" list of bacterial infections, so that any drug company that goes after one would be rewarded with a "bounty" of tax breaks and extended patents. One Florida company, Nabi Biopharmaceuticals, is already in phase three of clinical trials of a staph vaccine, which would immunize recipients. A request for FDA approval is expected by the end of 2005.

"At this point, we project it for use only among high-risk candidates, like kidney patients," says Nabi spokesman Mark Soufleris. "But potentially, it could be used for millions of people." Best of all, Soufleris points out, it could take a tremendously long time before MRSA develops resistance to the vaccine. "Antibiotics attack the bacteria at one point of entry, but our vaccine creates antibodies that attack at multiple points."

Dr. Gilbert likes what he's heard about the Nabi vaccine. "Won't that be great, to get a shot and never worry about staph again?" he says. Till then, he urges, do what your mom always told you: "Change your clothes, wash your hands, and no roughhousing."

[cayanne]

30. I have MRSA now

This is the second time I've had methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection in my right hand. The first time was after a trigger thumb surgery in April 1991. I've had multiple surgeries since 1991 without any problems. I'm always given an IV antibiotic prior to surgery; this time my luck ran out. We've been trying to treat it orally with Clindamycin for the past two weeks. However, I'm not making any progress, just holding my own. I'm off to the Dr in a few minutes to see if I have to have IV's. The first time I was in the hospital for 10 days quarantined as I laid there waiting for my IVs every 12 hours. If I remember correctly the antibiotic used was Vancomycin. It was so thick it collapsed my veins resulting in the IV having to be moved every time. I was released after 10 days and I was back again after 14 hours for another 5 day stay with IV Vancomycin.

Now my Dr says I do not have to stay in the hospital. Instead I'll go in every 12 hours for the IV and then return home. This sounds better but I live in north Idaho 22 miles away from the hospital over windy and mountainous roads full of deer, elk and moose. So this will add to my stress which will in turn flare up my Fybro, Myofacial pain which makes it more difficult for me to drive. I only take antibiotics when life threatening, such as pneumonia, and refuse them for conditions such as bronchitis. I thought I was home free since it's been 14 years since my last post-surgical infection. I originally moved up to north Idaho to complete my surgeries in a low populated area thinking that the hospitals would have better bugs. I contracted this MRSA infection in a hospital in a town of 2200 people. I can only think that it is now everywhere.

I try to limit my computer use to hopefully keep from getting trigger fingers and carpal tunnels. I don't post much on DU or any place else to keep my stress levels down for my fibro. I've been reading DU since it first started (when my friend coralsea first told me he found it) and you see how low my post count is.

So, no matter how good and cautious I've been I've now been re-infected with MRSA and my fibro-Myofacial pain is continuing to progress. All I can say is SHIT and fuck a duck.

Now, I'm off to the Dr.

[RedEarth]

31. Best of luck with your treatment.....

hopefully the IV's will knock it out soon.

[cayanne]

37. Surg & IVs

Thanks RedEarth, I go back into surgery Thurs am then probably admitted to the hospital for IV treatment. At least he told me top be prepared for admittemce for IVs. There's new antibiotics so hopefully they'll work quick. :cry:

[hue]

40. best wishes to you! Hope all goes Well!

Bring lots of stuff to keep you entertained; books, mags, phone book, whatever! We'll be thinking of you! Let us know how you are when you can!

[gkhouston]

52. a new antibiotic may be just the ticket

:hug: All the best.

[Delphinus]

41. Good luck to you.

I hope you pull through this. As you can, keep us posted.

[amazona]

45. I'm pulling for you

I hope you have a full recovery very soon. What an awful experience!

The conservation movement is a breeding ground of communists
and other subversives. We intend to clean them out,
even if it means rounding up every birdwatcher in the country.
--John Mitchell, US Attorney General 1969-72

[gkhouston]

51. I've been there myself and it sucked

I had a PICC line (intravenous IV) when I was doing the Vancomycin, so I got out of the hospital after the abscess surgery when they were sure I wasn't going to do the septic shock thing. Nice thing about the PICC line was that I could do the every-12-hours drugs at home. The not-nice thing was that the friggin' PICC line, which is really just some thin plastic tubing, didn't want to come out of my arm when the 10 days was up so I ended up going to the emergency room and waiting around forever. Their big technical solution? An amazing tug-of-war, with, I guess, the right facilities to deal with the problem if they'd yanked my vein right out of my arm.

And the killer of all of this? I originally got colonized during a routine breast biopsy (benign). So first I had an infection in the biopsy incision and my upper arm, treated with oral antibiotics, and four months later it came back in another part of the same breast, so strongly than I had to have a second surgery. So much for my career as an exotic dancer. ;-)

I'll be thinking positive thoughts for you and your battle in this round with the ugly MRSA monster. You've licked it before, you can do it again. But oh, what a pain in the veins!!

[JawJaw]

32. MRSA

The battle against MRSA has become quite a high profile health issue in the UK. It's even become part of the Conservative election strategy!

Apparently, the Netherlands are being successful in controlling MRSA, adopting a http://newswww.bbc.net.uk/1/hi/health/3856379.stm">zero tolerance approach

[PuraVidaDreamin]

34. dead end link Zero Tolerance Policy

could you please try to re-link?
thanx

[nodehopper]

54. that link didn't work for me, can you please doublecheck it?

[RedEarth]

33. Few more articles on "Drug-resistant Bacteria"...also in chickens...

VUMC Researchers Find Drug-resistant Bacteria MRSA To Be A Growing Threat

Infectious diseases researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center are noticing a significant increase in the number of infections due to Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) and the number of asymptomatic individuals who harbor the organism in their bodies.

In fact, in a recent analysis of children seen in 2003 at the emergency department of the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt, approximately 60 percent of the skin infections due to the staphylococcus germ were due to MRSA, an organism that can produce a variety of physical manifestations across a spectrum, from the very minor, all the way to causing death. Now a new study done by VUMC researchers confirms a dramatic spread of the organism that is being harbored in the noses of healthy children.

"What this tells us is that we're more likely to find MRSA in this population than we are the typical staphylococcus organism that is susceptible to methicillin," said Buddy Creech, M.D., a fellow in pediatric infectious diseases and the lead investigator on the study. "The problem with this organism is that it seems to behave differently, with a tendency to cause skin abscesses and pneumonia."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/03/050325233012.htm


Drug-resistant Bacteria Persist in Chickens

BALTIMORE Apr 9, 2005 — Antibiotic-resistant bacteria continued to be found in chickens bought at area supermarkets a year after two large poultry producers stopped using an antibiotic blamed for creating the resistant strains, Johns Hopkins researchers report.

The researchers say the findings suggest antibiotic-resistant bacteria may persist in the poultry industry after the use of the antibiotics, known as fluoroquinolones, has stopped and may contaminate more poultry than previously thought.

However, one of the producers and a researcher not involved with the study said it did not show whether the amount of bacteria found presented a health risk. Whether the resistant strains were naturally present or use of the antibiotic caused the resistant strains to be present in the samples also was not clearly shown, the two said.

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=656496