Many public health experts are getting alarmed by the widespread increase of drug-resistant staph infections caused by MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), also known as the ?Super Bug.? MRSA bacteria may be common but can be more troublesome to treat than most strains of Staphylococcus aureus due to immunity to some commonly used antibiotics. In rare cases, these infections can lead to a potentially deadly flesh-eating disease called necrotizing fasciitis.



?Necrotizing fasciitis is still a rare disease, but MRSA no longer is,? said Lisa Young, MD, in a news release from the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

Working at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and Denver Health Medical Center, Young and her colleagues tracked cases of necrotizing fasciitis from January 2004 to February 2006 at the Denver Health Medical Center.

Based on medical records, 30 patients were treated for necrotizing fasciitis during that time. The team noted that five out of those 30 cases (17 percent) were due to MRSA. Their findings were presented in Toronto at the annual meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

However, staph infection isn't the most common cause of necrotizing fasciitis, and most MRSA cases don't lead to the flesh-eating disease.

At the same conference, another MRSA study was also presented. It had nothing to do with flesh-eating necrotizing fasciitis. The focus of the presentation was the identification of common traits among 75 MRSA patients in Minnesota. experts

According to researcher Kathryn Como-Sabetti of the Minnesota Department of Health and Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, the study revealed that MRSA patients were more likely to have taken antibiotics in the six months before MRSA infection as compared to patients with drug-sensitive staph infections. The study, however, did not show whether those antibiotics had been prescribed and used appropriately.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is a type of bacteria that is resistant to certain antibiotics such as methicillin and other more common antibiotics which include oxacillin, penicillin, and amoxicillin. Staph infections usually affect persons in hospitals and healthcare facilities, such as nursing homes and dialysis centers, whose immune systems have weakened.

When healthy people contracted MRSA infections, especially those who have not been recently (within the past year) hospitalized or had a medical procedure (such as dialysis, surgery, catheters), these type of infections are known as Community Associated (CA) MRSA infections. These infections are usually manifested on the skin as abscesses, boils, and other pus-filled lesions.

By practicing good hygiene, people are more likely to prevent getting the MRSA infection. In the CDC website, the following MRSA prevention tips may be found:

Keep your hands clean by washing thoroughly with soap and water or using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.

Keep cuts and scrapes clean and covered with a bandage until healed.

Avoid contact with other people's wounds or bandages.

Avoid sharing personal items such as towels or razors.

CDC launched a national evidence-based educational campaign to prevent antimicrobial resistance in healthcare settings that was designed to reach healthcare providers. The campaign focused on preventing antimicrobial resistance in healthcare settings by promoting four strategies targeting various patient populations including: hospitalized adults, dialysis patients, surgical patients, hospitalized children, and long-term care residents.