What you can't see might kill you

Ok, I'm not sure where this should go, but it's an article that was posted on my NF survivor board and I thought it was good to know. I am a Group A Strep, DIC, Staphylococcus Aureus survivor.

What you can't see might kill you
A scanning electron microscope captured staphylococcus aureus, or "staph," a
bacteria commonly carried on the skin or in the nose of healthy people.
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(Photo courtesy CDC)
A scanning electron microscope captured staphylococcus aureus, or "staph," a
bacteria commonly carried on the skin or in the nose of healthy people.

Karl B. Hille, The Examiner
Feb 9, 2007 3:00 AM (6 hrs ago)
Current rank: # 232 of 15,181 articles

BALTIMORE - Screening every patient for potentially deadly staphylococcus
infections can cut their spread inside hospitals by up to 70 percent, but
federal health officials have not endorsed the disease-fighting tactic.



"It's effective. We believe in it, and we've been doing it for years," said
nurse Polly Ristaino, infection control coordinator with St. Joseph Medical
Center in Towson, where universal screening is practiced in the intensive
care unit. "We're considering expanding it to other units in our hospital."

The idea gained ground this week with an announcement by the Veterans
Affairs Administration that its 150 hospitals nationwide would begin
screening.

Drug-resistant staph infections in the Pittsburgh Veterans Affairs' surgical
care unit dropped more than 70 percent after instituting universal screening
in 2001, said Dr. Robert Muder, infectious diseases director.

Pittsburgh VA guidelines now require all patients to get their noses swabbed
for the bacteria upon admission and discharge. Those with the bug are
isolated from other patients and treated by health care workers in gowns and
gloves. Workers disinfect even noninvasive instruments like blood pressure
cuffs and stethoscopes after contact with these patients.

But isolation can be costly, said Dr. Rich Boehler, chief medical officer
for St. Joseph. "Most patients would not necessarily contract a serious
illness. The challenge is, you don't necessarily know who would and who
wouldn't," he said.

Multiple-resistant staphylococcus aureus is a type of bacteria that does not
respond to most common antibiotics, including methicillin, oxacillin,
penicillin and amoxicillin. According to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, staph infections occur most frequently in hospitals, nursing
homes and dialysis centers among those with weakened immune systems.

Infections can range from open boils to pneumonia, flesh-eating bacteria and
a blood condition called sepsis. According to the CDC, it kills 17,000
Americans a year.

Other hospitals use myriad strategies to fight the bug. Some screen
everyone; some test high-risk patients; others screen just those in
high-risk units like intensive care.

"Having different hospitals doing it different ways will help us see what
works," said Dr. Harold Standiford, the University of Maryland Medical
Center's infection control chief. "It's going to be a continual process."

The CDC suggests screening at-risk patients but did not recommend universal
testing.

Associated Press Writer Joann Loviglio contributed to this report.

Very interesting article!!! I was diagnosed with a staph infection in my kidneys while pregnant with my first son, and seemed like I was on antibiotics the entire time for uti's. I never knew that staph was that bad! Is this the same type that the article is talking about? I also had group B strep with my first son, but negative with the second, and was treated anyway. Thanks for sharing this article!!

My understanding is that a staph infection is the staphyloccocus aureus.. but don't quote me on that because I don't know for sure. I just know there's that type and the methicillan-resistant staphyloccocus aureus. This was the first time I'd heard the term "mulitple-resistant", so I don't know if that's a new one or what.

I got the staph infection in one of my picc lines (like an iv on steroids), the one that was in my groin. I had gone through so much at that point and had already been on major antibiotics that I didn't really notice much difference, other than them giving me another antibiotic (and they may have done more, I just don't remember). I remember them coming in and saying they had to get the picc line out NOW.

I am so glad everytime I read articles like this that talk about advancements in catching things like this early.

Jen