Until recently, antibiotic resistant staph infections have been seen only in hospitals. A recent study, published in the Journal, Pediatrics, shows that this has changed dramatically and the dangerous infection is now arising in the community. MSRA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, cases seen in children in 25 hospitals in the United States rose 10-fold between 1999 and 2008. “Almost 30,000 children were hospitalized with MRSA infections at the hospitals studied during the 10-year period. Most had skin or muscle infections, and 374 youngsters with MRSA died.” One of the authors of the study, Dr. Jason Newland said “It isn’t clear if MRSA caused those deaths, it can be deadly and is blamed for more than 18,000 deaths in children and adults nationwide each year.”
New tests have been developed that can determine more quickly which type of staph infection a person has, a critical step in the quick and effective treatment of the disease. A corresponding rise in the use of clindamycin, an antibiotic used to treat MRSA, was seen during this same time period. This is problematic because MRSA is already becoming resistant to this antibiotic in some regions of the country. According to Dr. Newland, it is important to continue research into new treatments because MRSA will ultimately find its way around any antibiotic used to treat it.
Written by www.labtestingnow.com