MRSA Notes

I know I am thankful that someone is starting to collect statistical information about MRSA in the United States.  It is about time. 

 2 million in U.S. may carry staph; infections on the rise

DALLAS - The first nationwide statistical snapshot of a worrisome infection estimates at least 2 million people in the country may be silently carrying a potentially dangerous bacterium. And a second study reports that the germ appears to be creeping into hospital patients at a steady pace.

The studies are the latest clues to the behavior of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA. Since its appearance in the general population in 1999, the infection has already become notorious for illness among inmates, children and professional athletes. Last September, MRSA spread among Katrina evacuees at a shelter in Dallas. The St. Louis Rams battled an outbreak that affected five players, who apparently passed the infection to members of the San Francisco 49ers.

On Friday, the Dallas County Department of Health and Human Services issued a warning about MRSA infections picked up in contaminated whirlpool footbaths at some area nail salons.

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