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SUPERBAD: The Superbug, not the Teen Movie
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (abbreviated MRSA, pronounced Mersa) is becoming a bigger public health concern than originally predicted.
Just a few months ago I posted a WebMD blog describing how MRSA was becoming prevalent in the general population. When MRSA was first identified it thrived in hospital environments and was passed from patient-to-patient by health care workers. Nowadays contaminated wound cultures from people with no hospital exposure whatsoever are loaded with MRSA.
Ophthalmologists are now beginning to experience the MRSA epidemic. According to a recently published study in the eye journal Ophthalmology MRSA is the most frequently isolated germ in patients cultured for bacterial pink-eye. During a ten-year period in one teaching center 43% of all adult pink-eye cultures grew MRSA.
What is the impact of a 'Superbug' pink-eye? Since MRSA does not respond well to routine antibiotic eyedrops eye specialists must resort to the more expensive medicines. In time MRSA will become resistant to the newest antibiotics as well - then what will we do?
MRSA infections need to be treated according to a strategy that maximizes use of traditional antibiotics first. In other words, don't use a bazooka to kill a fly! Culture studies identify both the responsible germ (like MRSA) but also its specific sensitivity to a battery of antibiotics. Wherever possible, doctors are encouraged to treat MRSA with effective conventional antibiotics first and save the cutting-edge formulations for the most difficult strains.
2008 may be remembered as the year MRSA swept across America. As mentioned in my earlier blog post, a rigorous hand washing habit is all that's necessary to stop MRSA in its tracks. How many times have you washed your hands today? Was it more than once?
Related Topics: Technorati Tags: MRSA, pink eye, vision, health and wellness
