Staph infections have become a nationwide problem that can't be ignored

infections have become a nationwide problem that can’t be ignored or the past two issues BFS has been telling the disturbing story of staph infections in athletics. In the past, staph infections were relatively rare and easily treated. Not today. Now there is a strain of staph called MRSA, which stands for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. MRSA is resistant to most drugs, making treatment difficult, and is on the increase, with reported cases increasing 22 percent from 1995 to 2004. And BFS magazine is not the only one in the media paying attention: Check out these headlines in major publications and the stories behind them online.

F“Staph on the March” Published Friday, November 2, 2007 By Alice Park http://www.time.com/time/magazine/ article/0,9171,1680134,00.html “More and more, the four scariest letters for parents and students across the country are MRSA, for methicillinresistant Staphylococcus aureus. Over the past month, schools have shuttered their doors, sanitized their hallways and alerted parents to the presence of the spreading drug-resistant bacteria in locker rooms and on wrestling mats. At least three students have died of the infection. Headlines have alarmingly – if predictably – cried out warnings of a ‘superbug’, and there is in fact cause for real worry.”

“Study Finds Infections Growing from Regular and ‘Super’ Staph” Published Friday, November 30, 2007 By Angela Stewart http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news12/119640173093280.xml&coll=1 “Hospitalizations due to the dangerous superbug MRSA have doubled in recent years, while the number of general staph infections also has exploded, a study released yesterday has found.”

“Drug Resistant Staph: What You Need to Know” Published October 23, 2007 http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/23/drug-resistantstaph-what-you-need-to-know/ “A virulent strain of bacteria that resists many antibiotics appears to be killing more people annually than AIDS, emphysema or homicide, taking an estimated 19,000 lives in 2005, according to a study published last week in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The recent death of a 17-year-old high school football payer in Virginia is a tragic reminder that methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, can prey on otherwise healthy people.” “Governments Urged to Make Killer Bugs a Priority”

Published October 19, 2007 By Robert Davis and Jennie Coughlin http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2007-10-18-superbug-staph_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip “A landmark study indicating MRSA kills 18,000 Americans each year, along with reports of outbreaks in schools across the nation and the death of a high school student in Virginia, has renewed calls for more aggressive government action to help prevent the spread of the ‘super bug’ — a bacteria named methicillinresistant staphylococcus aureus.”

“Six States Report MRSA Infections, At Least Three Youths Have Died” Published October 19, 2007 By Fox News and Associated Press http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,303237,00.html “School districts in at least six states Thursday reported students infected with MRSA, a super strain of drugresistant staphylococcus bacteria that is responsible for the deaths of at least three children.” “Bacteria That Killed Virginian Teen Found in Other Schools”

Published October 18, 2007 http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/10/18/mrsa.cases/ index.html?section=cnn_latest “A study published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association estimates that MRSA infections occurred in nearly 95,000 Americans in 2005. Based on those figures, an estimated 18,650 people died due to their MRSA infection in 2005. That death rate is higher than the HIV/AIDS death rate for that year, and the number of MRSA related deaths is much higher than previously thought.”

“Deadly Superbugs” Published August 2007, By Lisa Collier Cool http://www.rd.com/content/methicillin-resistantstaphylococcus-aureus/1/ “They can be transmitted by a hug or handshake, on a playground or in a locker room. And can kill within 72 hours. ’Over the past three to four years, CA-MRSA has become an epidemic that’s sweeping the country,’ says Robert Daum, MD, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Chicago Comer Children’s Hospital… ’This isn’t something unleashed in hospitals. Community strains are genetically distinct from hospital staph, and even more virulent…That makes them a double threat. It’s not just a question of giving the right antibiotics.

We’re seeing aggressive, rapidly progressing cases. A child can be healthy and playing with his toys in the morning, and dead from this infection that night.’”

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DEDICATED TO HELPING ATHLETES SUCCEED SINCE 1976

From BFS Magazine — January/February 2008. Part of the BFS Magazine Archive (1980–2014).