Superbug Diseases are gaining on us
*
STAPH | Drug-resistant strain -- which kills more in U.S. than HIV --
moving outside health care centers

October 28, 2007
BY JIM RITTER Health Reporter

Drug-resistant staph infections are killing more Americans than HIV,
government researchers say.

But perhaps even more disturbing was their finding last week that the
"superbug" known as MRSA no longer is confined to hospitals, nursing
homes, dialysis centers, etc.

Darien resident Shelby Hoff contracted a staph infection more than two
years ago. Her right hand is still giving her problems.

Hoff was healthy and hadn’t been to a hospital in four years when she
developed drug-resistant MRSA. The infection began as a lump on her wrist.

HOW TO AVOID A STAPH INFECTION

* Keep hands clean with soap and water or an alcohol- based hand sanitizer.

* Keep cuts and scrapes clean and covered with a bandage.

* Don't touch other people's wounds or bandages.

* Don't share personal items such as towels or razors.

SOURCE: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

About 15 percent of the serious MRSA infections now arise outside health
care settings, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
researchers reported.

"Old diseases have learned new tricks," Dr. Elizabeth Bancroft of the
Los Angeles County health department wrote in the Journal of the
American Medical Association.

Shelby Hoff, 21, of southwest suburban Darien, is among the victims.
Like many who get "community associated" MRSA infections, Hoff is young
and healthy. She hadn't been to the hospital in more than four years
when she got sick.

It began as a lump on her wrist. The lump went away but came back. Her
doctor said it was probably gout.

At its peak, the infection was spreading as fast as an inch per hour.
Hoff's arm was red and swollen, and she developed a fever.

Tests confirmed Hoff had MRSA -- methicillin-resistant staphylococcus
aureus.

Staphylococcus aureus, often called staph, are bacteria. "Methicillin
resistant" means they do not respond to common antibiotics such as
penicillin and methicillin.

Hoff thinks she got it from her health club, "which wasn't the
cleanest." MRSA can live for long periods on surfaces. But it's also
possible Hoff got MRSA from skin contact such as shaking hands.

Hoff was put on vancomycin, one of the few antibiotics that still work
against MRSA. The drug caused hives and itching, and has left her with
some hearing damage. But it saved her life.

"They said that if I had waited one more day, I would have died," she said.

Hoff spent six days in the hospital and continued to take vancomycin
intravenously at home. It took a month before she could grip a pencil
and several more weeks of physical therapy before she could write legibly.

More than 2½ years later, the effects still linger -- Hoff's right arm
is sensitive to temperature extremes.

Community-associated MRSA has been spreading in such settings as housing
projects, prisons and schools. In recent weeks, students in Virginia,
New Hampshire and Mississippi have died from MRSA.

Schools in Evergreen Park, Aurora and Naperville and a high school in
southwest Chicago reported several new confirmed cases of MRSA last week.

Staph bacteria normally aren't a problem. About 25 percent to 30 percent
of the general population have staph bacteria in their noses, and about
1 percent are colonized with MRSA.

And, most MRSA infections aren't serious. They typically cause pimples
or skin boils. But serious MRSA infections can lead to pneumonia,
bloodstream infections or surgical wound infections.

Dayle Stirm of southwest suburban Crest Hill developed a MRSA infection
after surgery for a broken leg.

It took three surgeries to clean out the infection, and Stirm was
hospitalized nine days. "At one point, they told my husband I could lose
my leg below the knee," she said.

The infection left permanent damage. Stirm, 60, can walk only six or
seven minutes with a cane before her leg gets so tired and weak she
needs a wheelchair.

MRSA also can be fatal.

A few days after preemie Madeline Reimer came home from the hospital,
she developed what appeared to be a cold.

Thirty-six hours later, Beth Reimer found her daughter limp in the crib
of her Plainfield home. Madeline was airlifted to the hospital, where
she died, 11 days later, from MRSA.

Jeanine Thomas, president of MRSA Survivors Network, said MRSA is "a
horrific, recurring infection that occurs at all ages."

Illinois recently became the first state to require hospitals to screen
high-risk patients for MRSA. The Illinois Hospital Association, which
supports the law, says the tests cost $5 to $21 per patient.

Evanston Northwestern Healthcare goes further. Since 2005, it has been
screening every patient at its three North Shore hospitals.

Those who test positive are given an antibiotic ointment for their nose
and asked to shower or bathe with an antiseptic soap. This usually gets
rid of the bug, thereby reducing the risk of subsequent MRSA infections.