MRSA Drug Resistant Scare
You likely could not have missed recent news in the mainstream press and gay community about MRSA, specifically the new strain MRSA USA300. In the last couple of weeks, stories have splashed everything from the New York Times to Newsweek about the spread of MRSA among gay men. This new strain of Staphylococcus Aureus is antibiotic resistant, and gay men appear to be some 13 times more likely to be infected with this form of the bacteria in one community in
The official study that caused all this uproar can be found at annals.org. While the study does not jump to any significant conclusions, the media did, ranging from calling MRSA the “new HIV†to linking it with anal intercourse.
What is MRSA? MRSA stands for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, further clarified as hospital acquired (HA-MRSA) and community acquired (CA-MRSA). Â First and foremost, it should be clarified that antibiotic resistant bugs have been around, and are becoming more prevalent in all walks of life, and all communities regardless of sexual orientation. Staphylococcus aureus is a common bacterium that normally lives on the skin and in the nasal passages. This infection can produce symptoms ranging from a simple skin abscess or lesions to cellulitis and even death. While many bacteria produce infections, the primary concern with MRSA is that very few antibiotics are effective, and in the case of new strains even fewer drugs may be available to treat these complex infections. For more information on the specifics about MRSA, see the mayoclinic.com site.
That said, what does this mean for you? What should you be doing to protect yourself? The simple fact is that MRSA can be spread through skin to skin contact of any sort. Moreover, staph infections of the skin often occur in moist areas, including the buttocks and groin. This is entirely unrelated to actual sexual contact. Prevention is not so hard really. Use good hygiene. Wash your hands regularly. If you do have a skin infection, or a partner does, seek treatment quickly and request that skin lesions be cultured before beginning treatment so they can be treated appropriately. Really, though, these are not tips relevant to gay men, but to everyone who uses a gym, might have children in daycare, or have lunch with a health care provider.
Excellent write up. Very informative.
You will notice that Fresno, CA is the only city within the entire nation to react to the mrsa panic by increasing medical benefits for various departments, now working on ways to increase benefits for ALL city employees. They have a secret – spreading of deadly bacteria including pathogens from mrsa, behind felony altering of the city sewer and water systems, verified by witnesses and their own records. KNOWINGLY leaving a trail of illness, asthma, infections, amputation, death – refusing to even test the soil, as the risk analyst says, “Not my job.” But lying about the cause of DELIBERATE and INTENTIONAL exposure to infectious, disease-carrying raw sewage is?!? Followed by altered records to cover up the evidence?
If anyone has contracted mrsa in Fresno, CA, there is enough evidence of fraud, blatant negligence and cover-up, which will surely result in massive lawsuits.
http://cellulitisinfresno.googlepages.com/home