CA-MRSA apparently did not develop as a new strain in the community but is a cross between HA-MRSA (hospital acquired) and more common forms that were at one time easily dealt with in the community. Many of these crossbred variants have developed an element that step-ups their potency, leading to the growth of deep-tissue infections resulting from small, seemingly insignificant abrasions and cuts. These infections have gone on to cause several cases of lethal pneumonia.

CA-MRSA skin infections have been discovered among groups that share tight living spaces or have a lot of skin-to-skin contact. Common examples are sports teams, soldiers in training, and prison inmates.

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Experts worry that this serious illness may soon become much more common. In the large modern hospital where I live, it is quite a problem and I have been told by patients I know personally that they cancelled their surgeries for fear of being infected with MRSA.

So what is MRSA? Let’s start with regular Staphylococcus aureus, more commonly known as staph. Staph is the name given to a group of bacteria that is quite common to all of us and usually relatively benign.

Between one-quarter and one-third of the people in the world (and most likely many more), some two billion, carry staph in their nose or throat, or on their skin. Most of the time it’s completely harmless, although it is a common cause of skin problems, such as pimples and boils.

In hospitals and other medical facilities, however, staph is more worrisome. It can lead to serious infections of the bloodstream and the urinary tract, pneumonia, endocarditis, meningitis, toxic shock syndrome, and even death. Over half a million hospital patients contract serious staph infections during their stay every year in this country. It’s one of the biggest health risks of going to a hospital.

But for the vast majority of people who aren’t in a medical facility, ordinary staph is usually quite harmless, and when it does cause problems, it can be successfully treated with common antibiotics.

MRSA is different—it is a strain of staph that has become resistant to the penicillin family of antibiotics, even methicillin, one of the most powerful antibiotics. Still, most cases of MRSA are fairly mild, causing a pimple or boil which may be very sore and contain pus. But it often leads to severe illness in victims, which can result in amputations, and can even be fatal.

Learn more at this CDC MRSA information page.

Medical people have their own form of “gallows humor” and don’t sugar coat things they see, especially when talking among themselves.

His observation? He can “smell” MRSA, because it seems to occur much more often among those who are dirty.

This certainly makes sense. People with poor hygiene are likely to be lax in many other ways as well.

Of course, there are plenty of exceptions, and clean people are contracting MRSA.

But as a general observation, it is probably an accurate one.

How does this relate to schools? Well, kids from all types of families and social strata attend the same schools. We are also seeing a large number of recent arrivals from different parts of the world where Western hygiene isn’t practiced.

The best thing a parent can do is stay informed and involved with your kid’s health and environment.

Here is the statement that caught our attention:

“Contrary to the generally accepted view, community-associated MRSA strains may be spreading into the healthcare system rather than the other way around.”

This is not a good situation at all, but certainly understandable. Other reports have shown that the CA-MRSA strain is tougher than the HA (Hospital Associated) version. It stands to reason that the tougher strain will take over the weaker.

Here is the abstract of the study:

Hospital-acquired infections with Staphylococcus aureus, especially methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) infections, are a major cause of illness and death and impose serious economic costs on patients and hospitals. However, the recent magnitude and trend of these infections have not been reported. We used national hospitalization and resistance data to estimate the annual number of hospitalizations and deaths associated with S. aureus and MRSA from 1999 through 2005. During this period, the estimated number of S. aureus–related hospitalizations increased 62%, from 294,570 to 477,927, and the estimated number of MRSA-related hospitalizations more than doubled, from 127,036 to 278,203. Our findings suggest that S. aureus and MRSA should be considered a national priority for disease control.

The data from this study is allmost 2 years old, and yet we are just now hearing about MRSA.

What else are we missing?

Three of their clients came down with MRSA infections after getting tattoos from Michael and Tiffany Mills.

While two of the victims were treated and released, the third required a two week stay at the hospital, and came close to dying when the infection spread to his heart.

Illegal tattooing a is a real problem, especially for underage kids who can’t legally get tattooed or don’t have the money for a licensed shop.

Even the legal tattoo parlors don’t look to be too sanitary, at least judging by the outer appearance. One has to wonder why the medical authorities are so lax in maintaining standards for such places.

The long term health effects of tattooing are yet to be determined as well. The skin is a vital organ, and injecting it with foreign substances cannot be good for it.

You can learn more about the potential health hazards of tattoos in How to Protect Your Child from 12 Diseases Your Mother Never Told You About.

Our feet do a lot of “dirty work” and get little reward. Yet they are at higher risk for infection that many other parts of our body.

According to the article:

Dr. Michael Nirenberg, known as America’s Podiatrist, has just published the booklet, “MRSA and Your Feet: 12 Ways to Protect Your Feet and Your Family’s Feet.”

So give those feet a break, and some TLC.

Robert Maltby, a self described “health nut” who ran 40 to 50 miles a day came down with it, and ended up losing his large intestine.

Even though he was treated at two hospitals, Maltby remembers little after his wife, Sandi, urged him to seek emergency care. He lost consciousness. “They really didn’t take care of him at the first hospital,” Sandi Maltby said.

Yet again, we see that a hospital is unable to diagnose this.

Doctors, she said, had no idea what ailed her husband, who had been suffering from profuse diarrhea. She and her daughter, a physician’s assistant, had him transferred to North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset.

According to the medical specialists in the article, C. diff is following in the footsteps of MRSA, moving from hospitals out into the community, and developing drug resistance.

Like staph, it can reside dormant in healthy people for years. Mutant strains can release toxins that can inflame the intestines and cause death.

Maltby had a minor procedure done that required antibiotics. His doctors told him the antibiotics killed all the bacteria in his intestinal tract except for C. diff, which then had free reign.

Another reason to look past “surface” solutions to underlying causes, and immune system health:

At a time when the public is just becoming familiar with MRSA, hospitals remain entrenched in a decades-long battle against a veritable zoo of microbes.

They also reveal another fact about MRSA. It isn’t new. Dr. Phillips of the Arkansas Department of Public Health provides the following:

According to Phillips, despite the recent interest in MRSA, the condition is nothing new. “We have been working diligently over the last several years to provide education materials about MRSA…”

It’s good to see that these folks are looking beyond doing things just for appearance sake.

Jill Moss, whose dog Bella died from an MRSA infection after surgery, has started a foundation to promote awareness of the issue.

While cases are less common than in humans, it is something to watch for.

According to the article, it’s easy to screen for MRSA by taking a simple nose swab. (Still think MRSA only exists on surfaces?)

Hospitals that do screen can certainly reduce incidences of MRSA, as would make sense.

The most telling lines in the report:

And (Epidemiologist Carlene Muto) added that it’s not just patients who want to see that infection data.

She says she gets calls from physicians looking for the hospital infection rates when they need surgery — or when someone from their family does.

Hey brother, can you spare a dime?