The spread of a potentially life-threatening antibiotic-resistant staph germ is now responsible for more deaths in the United States each year than AIDS, according to federal health officials.

The microbe, a strain of a once-innocuous staph bacterium that has become invulnerable to first-line antibiotics, is responsible for more than 94,000 serious infections and nearly 19,000 deaths each year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calculated.

Staphylococcus aureus, often referred to simply as "staph," are bacteria commonly carried on the skin or in the nose of healthy people.

According to the CDC, staph bacteria are one of the most common causes of skin infections in the U.S. Most of those infections are minor, such as pimples or boils, and can be treated without antibiotics. However, staph bacteria also can cause serious infections, including surgical wound infections, bloodstream infections and pneumonia.

Some staph bacteria are resistant to antibiotics. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, or MRSA, is a type of staph that is resistant to antibiotics called beta-lactams -- methicillin, oxacillin, penicillin and amoxicillin. While staph infections occur most often among individuals in hospitals and health care facilities who have weakened immune systems, it is becoming more common in community settings, as evidenced in recent news reports.

Staph infections, including the serious MRSA strain, have spread through schools nationwide in recent weeks, according to health and education officials, with many of the infections being spread in gyms and locker rooms where athletes -- possibly suffering from cuts or abrasions -- share sports equipment.

An article on www.scnow.com reported that a case of staphylococcal infection was ide.jpgied at Timrod Elementary School on Wednesday, Oct. 17, prompting Florence School District 1 officials to contact the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control and send crews to sanitize all areas of the school.

Florence 1 officials said there have been six confirmed staph infections cases in the district this year: four at South Florence High School, one at West Florence High School and one at Timrod Elementary School.

Officials in the neighboring Darlington County School District an

nounced Sept. 13 that Hartsville High School had two confirmed cases of a strain of MRSA, an antibiotic-resistant staph infection. Four other student athletes contracted staph infections that weren't confirmed as MRSA, but all students responded well to treatment.

Statistics for local cases of staph infection were not available from the Regional Medical Center or the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control. According to DHEC, MRSA and other staph infections are not considered reportable conditions.

However, in 2006, The Times and Democrat wrote an article about a Calhoun County man who had to undergo five surgeries after he got a bacterial infection in his surgical wound following an operation on a bleeding ulcer. The infection, diagnosed as MRSA, ate away at his muscles and nearly cost him his life, the article said.

According to national news reports, a Virginia high school student died Oct. 15 after being hospitalized for more than a week with MRSA. The infection had spread to his kidneys, liver, lungs and the muscles around his heart.

The rise of the life-threatening antibiotic staph germ has prompted the American College of Emergency Physicians to launch an education initiative aimed at protecting the public against the further spread of infection.

According to the ACEP, the best protection is prevention. The following are ways the public can prevent the spread MRSA:

n

Practice good hygiene by frequently and thoroughly washing hands with soap and hot water or using a skin sanitizer containing topical alcohol.

n

Clean and disinfect cuts, abrasions, punctures and other wounds, and cover them with a bandage.

n

Avoid contact with other people's open skin wounds, bandages or infections.

n

Avoid sharing towels, razors, make-up applicators and other personal-care items that can transmit germs.

n

Seek prompt medical attention for any wound or condition that shows signs of infection, which include fever, swelling, redness, a bad smell or fluid draining from the area or increased pain at the wound site.

n

Be aware that common staph germs are more prevalent in public facilities, so more frequent adherence to good hygiene in such settings is recommended.

For more information, visit www.cdc.gov.

T&D Features Writer Candace Newson can be reached by e-mail at cnewson@timesanddemocrat.com or by telephone at 803-533-5540. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

You must be logged in to comment.