MRSA Notes

NEW YORK, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Inhibitex Inc. on Tuesday said U.S. regulators have indicated they may be willing to ease the requirements for approving its experimental drug to prevent hospital-related infections in babies with very low birth weight.

The company said the Food and Drug Administration has indicated itmight be willing to approve the drug, [...]

From The Midland Daily News:
It didn’t look like anything serious at first. When 18-year-old RandyTripp noticed a bump on his leg, he thought it might be an ingrownhair. A week later, when it started to get bigger, he showed his mom.
Hesoaked in a hot tub, put on Band-Aids and covered the reddening spotwith antibiotic ointment, [...]

From Pittsburgh’s Post-Gazette :
Keeping tabs on the spread of communicable illnesses often starts with a district’s daily attendance numbers.
“The district watches attendance trends carefully,” said NorthAllegheny spokeswoman Mary Marous. “Our current average dailyattendance is 96 percent. If numbers in a particular school or acrossthe district drop significantly, we will look into the reasons.”
The Allegheny County [...]

From todays Eureka, CA Times-Standard :
Every couple of months, rumors swirl that staph infections are becoming more common locally. The truth is it’s hard [...]

Members of newly formed MRSA Action UK have a busy day on 28 November 2005.
At 11.30 am. five members of the group will present a petition to 10 Downing Street on behalf of thousands of people affected by the super bug MRSA and the relatives of those that have died from the infection. The petition calls [...]

From all of us at MRSA Resources, we wish you a Happy Thanksgiving. Along with all of the other blessings bestowed on us this year, we are so thankful that God has given us the ability to help some of you through your illnesses. There are always blessings in your lives, even when [...]

Dear Doctor: How does MRSA spread?
Q. My son plays football and is in excellent health. Why did he get MRSA?
A. MRSA, or methicellin-resistant staph aureus, is a bacterial infection of the skin and underlying tissues that is becoming more and more common in perfectly healthy children and adolescents. As did other bacteria that developed resistance [...]

Goetz Western Meats Recalls Ham, Beef Products for possible Staphylococcus Enterotoxin
Goetz Western Meats, an Everett, Wash., establishment, is voluntarily recalling approximately 340 pounds of boneless honey cured hams and smoked beef strips that may contain Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced today.
The following products are subject to [...]

There is a reporter in the New York area who would like to do an article on MRSA and the people who have been affected by it. She has not been able to locate any non-caucasian people who have been willing to share their stories. Can we help her out? Anyone who [...]

I hope you will consider joining us at the Focus on Wellness study group. Tomorrow we begin week 1 in Dr. Andrew Weil’s 8 Weeks to Optimum Health, and are really looking forward to learning how to improve our overall health and especially our immune systems. This is so important if you have [...]

This is just a bizarre little article, I think, from several perspectives. I cannot believe they are still using the word rare in relation with MRSA.
TheBostonChannel.com - As Seen On NewsCenter 5 - Skin Disease Infecting Prisoners
BOSTON — A rare, and potentially deadly, skin bacteria is infecting prisoners across the state. It’s [...]

Department of Correction officials said 68 inmates have been infected with MRSA since Jan. 1. Currently, they said, 15 of those convicts are being treated for the staph diseases. Four of the prisoners are under “contact precaution” at prison infirmaries, and 11 others are being treated with antibiotics in general population, said DOC spokeswoman Diane [...]

Today is an exciting day. I have been waiting for the official beginning of our Wellness Study group since Christina and I first began discussing the idea. I’d like to encourage anyone who can to share information about what has helped to get you better. Improvement is the goal here, in little [...]

Finally, after much planning, we are so happy to announce a new focus at MRSA Resources, a Focus on Wellness. This is a study group formed in response to the questions we get almost daily from people wanting to know what they can do to prevent MRSA from recurring so they can get on [...]

Grace Filby, of Relax-Well.co.uk sent me this link to the Science Museum.org presentation on MRSA and bacteriophages. Very interesting stuff.
If you have never read about bacteriophage therapy before, we have a page on it at the SuperbugWiki. It looks like a very useful therapy, and was used before we discovered antibiotics. [...]

WAUKESHA, Wis. — Health officials are keeping a close eye on the threat of a new strain of super germ that can eat flesh.
Six months ago, Dee Dee Wallace developed an infection about the size of a quarter on her backside.
The first doctor put her on antibiotics. But soon, another boil developed on her knee, [...]

Few students take the time to wipe down equipment after use. The SERF [Wisconson’s Southeast Recreational Facility] has become a breeding ground for infection, and germs are anything but healthy. Each machine houses millions of microorganisms, and bacteria-ridden gym equipment has been linked to a host of strange rashes, sexually transmitted infections, and other infections. [...]

“The St. Louis area is seeing an increase in a potentially deadly staph infection. It’s called MRSA.
So far, 41 cases have been treated this year. There were only 17 reported cases in the last three years combined.
The infection is found in prisons, daycare centers, nursing homes and hospitals.
It’s not yet known why MRSA cases are [...]

Yep, it is Thursday again!
10 pm Eastern time
http://www.chat.mrsaresources.com/chat
Enter the room with your desired name (no password needed!).
Hope to see you tonight!!
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Find them at the MRSA Resources homepage. I promised I would get them up yesterday, and I did, but it was late. Whew, all of this merging business has taken its toll. It is not so easy as it once was to miss a night of sleep.
Hope everyone is [...]

Emily is in Kindergarten this year and we are really lucky to have a great class mom (her school refers to them as class reps). Diane knows quite a bit about the volunteer work we do. Her husband is a dentist, so he is very aware of the necessity for infection prevention protocol. [...]

I have received a few stills of the MRSA documentary that is almost finished, and being produced by Denise and The Hands of Hope Group. Unfortunately, I have had a humongous day today, and am just about at the end of my energy, but I wanted to share this one teaser with you for [...]

Just to share a tidbit of non-MRSA related, but Christina Jones related news:
Probably not too many of you ’round these parts would have much of a clue what I am talking about, but the AboutWeblogs network where I have 2 (more) blogs (The Beauty Blog, and The Birthday Blog) have merged with [...]

Walter Derzko has written an interesting article detailing Professor Mark Spigelman’s proposal to set up a study in an antibiotic free hospital, where there would be no antibiotics or antibacterial products used, only plain soap and probiotics (beneficial bacteria). A very interesting read….
Smart Economy: Could plain soap and probiotics beat MRSA bacteria in [...]

Resistant staph afflicts Tenn. student - Boston.com
DYERSBURG, Tenn. –A high school student here was diagnosed with a dangerous strain of staphylococcus infection. The Dyer County School System notified students and parents Thursday and told parents to look for the symptoms of the infection.
Staph infections are commonly found in hospitals and most often cause minor skin [...]

A new study of genetic changes in bacteria may ultimately help drugmakers stay a step ahead of disease-causing bacteria that can becomeresistant to antibiotics.
The secret lies in understanding the function of the ribosome, a tiny protein-making factory residing inside most cells.
Many currently used antibiotics alter a ribosome’s ability to makeproteins, said Kurt Fredrick, [...]

Eww–something you may not have thought of…
Tainted Makeup Revealed
Unclean Hands To Blame

The makeup counter is where you try it before you buy it.
The counters concern Rowan University biological science professor Elizabeth Brooks.
“You can go and help yourself, which is a convenient thing for women, but it also [...]

Dr. Taraneh Ravazi, M.D., blogging for Google, offered up a very helpful, timely and relevant article about the flu shot and general flu information. This, as Maureen said a day or two ago, is so important for those of us with lowered immune systems to be aware of. Here is a snippet of [...]

Hello,
On behalf of all of our members I want to thank Christina and Denise for all of their hard work on the November Newsletter. Congratulations on such a great job. There is so much useful information for us. I think that we can all benefit from the stories of courage and inspiration. [...]

After much adieu (as is always the case with a deadline, isn’t it?) we have the MRSA Resources November Newsletter sent out to our subscribers. To receive it, sign up on any of the web pages on MRSA Resources. There are some items in there this month that you just might find interesting [...]

A couple things have changed about our chat tonight–most important, the room has changed. You can access the chat room here, or through the menu on the MRSA Resources web pages, under the Support heading, or through a link at the Discussion Forum.
The second thing (and best thing for those of you who have [...]