New MRSA, New Threat?
November 30th, 2007 Posted by: Dr. Cox
(Ivanhoe Newswire) — While the hospital âsuperbugsâ like MRSA may have been widely identified, new strains of the virus are spreading within communities and may pose a greater Men’s health threat.
According to researchers, lesser-known strains of the community associated MRSA virus are more powerful and easily spread between people. They say these new strains have been found in people with little to no reason to have MRSA, meaning they have not been in a hospital recently and are not looking after people with the infection.
âThese new strains of bacteria appear to be able to stick to damaged skin and airways better than hospital MRSA strains, and they also multiply at a faster rate,â Marina Morgan, D.M.S., pathologist from the Royal Devon and Exeter Foundation NHS Trust in England, was quoted as saying.
There are more antibiotics still effective against community MRSA than the hospital strains, but doctors say these community strains can kill white blood cells, the bodyâs key defense against invading bacteria. They can cause recurring boils and abscesses in the skin. The community virus is spread easily by close contact, especially within families, nurseries and athletic teams.
Researchers say it is important for doctors to be aware of the spread of community associated MRSA so they can treat a possible infection early. Oftentimes, patients will be treated with the wrong antibiotics, allowing the virus to spread. By the time they realize it is a MRSA infection, researchers say it may be too late.
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SOURCE: Presented at the Federation of Infection Societies Conference 2007, November 28-30, 2007