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StaphAseptic™ News
Dr. Donohue: MRSA not impossible to manage
April 16, 2010
The Journal
Your Good Health
By. Dr. Paul Donohue
DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I have a dear friend of 20 years who recently had surgery to repair a twisted colon. She socializes with our group. In asking her how she was recovering, she informed us that she was taking antibiotics for MRSA. Not knowing about MRSA, I went to my computer for information.
Needless to say, it frightened me. I no longer want to be in her company, as I have a family to consider. I don't think her doctor has made her aware of this very contagious infection. Will you please write about it? I do not want to hurt this dear friend. - Anon.
ANSWER: MRSA, stands for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, the common staph bacterium, found all over the place. Its story goes like this. When penicillin was first discovered, it was an effective drug against the staph germ. In time, the germ learned how to dodge penicillin. Resourceful scientists devised a new penicillin, methicillin, which is effective against the resistant staph. All went well for a time, but the staph germ devised new ways to evade methicillin. It became methicillin-resistant.
MRSA used to be confined to hospitals. Now it's found in the community. It's hard to avoid. You've probably encountered it many times, but never came down with an infection. It needs a cut, scrape or some other breach in the skin to establish an infection.
Your friend's surgical incision is where her infection is. You are not exposed to the infection site. Her doctor would not have let her appear in public if she were a threat of spreading MRSA. You don't have to avoid her. Treatment of MRSA infection is a challenge. A few older antibiotics kill it, and new ones are available if they're needed.
To read the rest of Dr. Donohue's column, visit journal-news.net
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