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  • SATURDAY APRIL 9 2005 1:00 PM

Flesh Eating Drug Resistant Bug Reaches Alarming levels

Submitted by dem_z

Edited by Shal

Flesh eating methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MSRA) infections have been seen outside hospitals in America. US doctors are warning people about the alarming rise in the rate of infection.

The infections in the US community have typically manifested as skin infections, such as pimples and boils, in otherwise healthy people.

Although none of the 14 patients died, they had serious complications, including the need for reconstructive surgery and prolonged stay in the intensive care unit.

The CDC has been investigating clusters of the community-acquired MRSA skin infections among athletes, military recruits and prisoners.

A common theme associated with the spread of these MRSA skin infections appears to be close skin-to-skin contact, openings in the skin such as cuts or abrasions, contaminated items and surfaces, crowded living conditions and poor hygiene.


This sounds like every student accomodation that I've ever seen. The methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is not the same as the one rampaging through UK hospitals.

In the UK, there have been some cases of MRSA in the community, but experts say these are different to the cases arising in the US.

Dr Jodi Lindsay, lecturer in infectious diseases at St George's hospital, said although no cases had been reported in the UK yet, it was a concern.

"We are worried these community-acquired MRSAs might come over here from the US," she said.

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Comments
camdenroad

camdenroad

I'm lost
November 2004

APR 09, 2005 04:09 PM

there isn't an upside to this one. hey suse this gives me the shits

bean

bean

STAFF

Los Angeles, CA

APR 09, 2005 04:17 PM

I'm sorry, but does this sound just a tad alarmist to anyone but me? If this is the same thing that was making the news a few years ago, when people had whole chunks of limbs eaten by bacteria, then the BBC is doing a miserable job relating that fact, I mean...pimples and boils?

Yeah, it sounds pretty fucking miserable and uncomfortable, and nobody wants to have to endure "a prolonged stay in the ICU," but it's not like anyone's bleeding out their eyeballs and dying a few hours later or anything.

Note: I'm not saying "this isn't that bad." Yeah, it's pretty fucking rotten, but it doesn't seem like the WHO is getting their undies in a bunch over it.

[Edited on Apr 09, 2005 by bean]

mQx

mqx

Seattle, WA
January 2003

APR 09, 2005 04:19 PM

s5 said:

Mqx said:
I read this in 1996 right after it came out and it's getting truer and truer every day.



i've had a copy sitting on my bookshelf for about that long, and i'm afraid to read it for fear that i'll never leave the house again.



I'll summerize... don't share blood with monkeys, AIDs patients, or crack whores... wash your hands, but don't use anti-bacterial soap... and let your kids suffer with ear infections unless it gets really, really bad. biggrin

And for G*d sake DON'T go to AFRICA!

Rabidnid

Rabidnid

Australia
May 2004

APR 09, 2005 04:41 PM

bean said:
I'm sorry, but does this sound just a tad alarmist to anyone but me? If this is the same thing that was making the news a few years ago, when people had whole chunks of limbs eaten by bacteria, then the BBC is doing a miserable job relating that fact, I mean...pimples and boils?

Yeah, it sounds pretty fucking miserable and uncomfortable, and nobody wants to have to endure "a prolonged stay in the ICU," but it's not like anyone's bleeding out their eyeballs and dying a few hours later or anything.

Note: I'm not saying "this isn't that bad." Yeah, it's pretty fucking rotten, but it doesn't seem like the WHO is getting their undies in a bunch over it.

[Edited on Apr 09, 2005 by bean]





Hummm, let's see...

A 16 year old school girl in Sydney about 5 years ago feels ill at school and get's sent home, her mom give's her some asprin and puts her in bed. Next morning see's the doctor, he calls the ambulence and she is admited to hospital when she has both legs amputated and loses the use of both arms, she also suffer's irriversable damage to her internal organs from both the bacteria and the antibiotics.

There is a belief that the bacteria may live in dirt, but other than that, nobody has a clue. If you don't get to hospital within hours of the infection occruing you are in deep trouble.

If you ain't scared shitless of this thing you are the only one, and no the WHO dosen't give a rat's because it dosen't kill millions of people, what it dose do is kill in less than a day or destroy lives in a few hours, with complete randomness.

[Edited on Apr 10, 2005 9:46AM]

Akrasia

Akrasia

Ireland
August 2004

APR 09, 2005 05:05 PM

this is what happens when you pump the food supply and water systems with the only defences we have against bacteria... they evolve to become resistant to it. (take that creationists) and suddenly we're defenceless again and we're facing bugs nastier than we've ever seen before.

witchhunter

witchhunter

Jackson, TN
February 2003

APR 09, 2005 05:09 PM

I had to restrain six patients with MRSA today.
It does seem like every month we have more cases. skull

Callahan

Callahan

Seattle, WA
February 2005

APR 09, 2005 05:13 PM

Shit, why do we need drugs for this stuff? If I came down with it, I would treat myself with large quantities of Bourbon Orally and Topically.

101 proof will take down just about anything.

ASipOfMercury

ASipOfMercury

United Kingdom
March 2005

APR 09, 2005 05:23 PM

mcsalty said:

According to the Tory opposition election campaign, MRSA is all Labour Govt.s fault, and the Tories will make it all better when they get in. The slogan is "How hard is it to keep a hospital clean?" Labour could respond with "Hey, at least it's not the flesh-eating kind!"



I worked at a hospital (on the patient management/computer side of things) nearly 10years ago when the tories were still in power, and there were plenty of patients logged on the system as having MRSA way back then

likwid_todd

likwid_todd

San Diego, CA
December 2002

APR 09, 2005 05:25 PM

my buddy at work got that because we're always in the ocean/bay in san diego. it starts as a respiratory bug that isn't too harmful but, if you cough or sneeze and accidently spread it to an open wound it becomes the fast moving flesh-eating type of bug. you can actually watch the infection spread over a period of 10 to 15 minutes or so. he was fortunate. we caught it early just below his calf and got him to the hospital before it could spread to any vital organs. doctors had to filet his leg to cut the infection out of all the tissue in between his muscles. nice.

ARRR!!!

rubric_perisarc

rubric_perisarc

Boston, MA
November 2004

APR 09, 2005 06:29 PM

be afraid america. stay scared shitless.

JoshXXX

JoshXXX

Northborough, MA
March 2004

APR 09, 2005 10:25 PM

And here I am, blissfully ignorant, thinking the worst thing I had to worry about was my girlfriend's husband coming home early. I refuse to be a prisoner of my own pathophobia. If I get it, I get it, but I'm not going out looking for it.

Mylf

mylf

Framingham, MA
April 2003

APR 09, 2005 10:38 PM

Mqx said:
Way ahead of you.



I read this in 1996 right after it came out and it's getting truer and truer every day.

PS, Still widely available and highly recommended.

[Edited on Apr 09, 2005 1:56PM]



This is one of my favorite books. If you like this you'll probably also like "Virus X" by Dr. Frank Ryan. good stuff.

MisterGraves

MisterGraves

Portland, OR
November 2003

APR 09, 2005 11:42 PM

I'll bet the cockroaches survive.
I hate cockroaches.

DLPChris

DLPChris

Las Vegas, NV
February 2005

APR 10, 2005 02:01 AM

Let's see... MRSA killed 955 people last year. Influenza killed 36201 people last year. I'm not too worried about MRSA.

loper_just_loper

loper_just_loper

Broken Arrow, OK
January 2005

APR 10, 2005 04:43 AM

Moxaic said:
Yet ANOTHER reason to sit inside on a sunny day and play video games.



AGREED!

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