Threat of 'flesh-eating' MRSA bug
US doctors warn of small but alarming rates of a flesh-eating type
of superbug.
Patients appear to have
caught the MRSA infection that attacks the skin outside of hospital,
reports the New England Journal of Medicine.
At a centre in California,
14 patients were identified between 2003 and 2004, and some needed to
be hospitalised.
So far no cases have been
seen in the UK, but health officials said they were monitoring the
situation.
We have recently noted
an alarming number of these infections
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 disease is different
to MRSA infections seen in the UK, which occur most frequently among
people in hospitals who have weakened immune systems.
The CDC has been
investigating clusters of the community-acquired MRSA skin infections
among athletes, military recruits and prisoners.
Spreading
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.
The CDC is investigating
why this strain is particularly good at spreading.
The study authors, from
the University of California, Los Angeles, said: "We have recently
noted an alarming number of these infections caused by
community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)."
They recommended that in
areas in which the infection is endemic, suspected cases should be
promptly treated with antibiotics.
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.
Angela Kearns, head of the
Health Protection Agency's staphylococcus reference laboratory, said:
"Over the past three years the Agency has seen only a small number of
community-acquired MRSA cases, and the UK hasn't seen the levels of
true community MRSA that have been seen in the States.
"Consequently, the risk of
contracting this type of MRSA in the UK remains extremely small."
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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