About Staph
Julius Cohen - Emporia
Saturday, November 17, 2007
MRSA is the abbreviation for the virulent antibiotic-resistant staphylococcus that is creating panic throughout the nation. Physicians are virtually impotent to treat the infection once it invades the blood, thereby posing a serious threat to the victim’s life.
The one effective antibiotic left may soon go the way of others. MRSA spreads rapidly on contact so that children exposed to one another in class and locker rooms are especially endangered and vulnerable. Desperate parents have therefore put enormous pressure on schools for measures of control.
Children with weakened immune systems are especially at risk, which unfortunately seems to be true for most these days. Scrapes and cuts allow staph bacteria to gain a foothold and thus should be promptly attended. I urge strong action from our local physicians and health officials to undertake a vigorous education campaign to inform people about the measures they can and must take to control the staph menace. The lives of our children especially depend on it. Such action should be concerted, sustained and community-wide. The time for action is now, rather than when a crisis arises.
methusla (anonymous) says...
Julius Cohen:
I would like to pose a question to you. Is it possible that MRSA could have been brought to the Emporia area by the Somalian immigrants, (refugees)? Afterall MRSA was virtually unknown in this area, as was TUBERCULOSIS untill the Somalian immigrants, (refugees) were allowed to settle in Emporia.
November 18, 2007 at 5:35 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
siamesefred (anonymous) says...
Methusla,
Join the real world... not everything bad that happens is caused by Somalis.
Read this from the Mayo Clinic:
Introduction
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection is caused by Staphylococcus aureus bacteria — often called "staph." Decades ago, a strain of staph emerged in hospitals that was resistant to the broad-spectrum antibiotics commonly used to treat it. Dubbed methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), it was one of the first germs to outwit all but the most powerful drugs. MRSA infection can be fatal.
Staph bacteria are normally found on the skin or in the nose of about one-third of the population. If you have staph on your skin or in your nose but aren't sick, you are said to be "colonized" but not infected with MRSA. Healthy people can be colonized with MRSA and have no ill effects. However, they can pass the germ to others.
Staph bacteria are generally harmless unless they enter the body through a cut or other wound, and even then they often cause only minor skin problems in healthy people. But in older adults and people who are ill or have weakened immune systems, ordinary staph infections can cause serious illness.
In the 1990s, a type of MRSA began showing up in the wider community. Today, that form of staph, known as community-associated MRSA, or CA-MRSA, is responsible for many serious skin and soft tissue infections and for a serious form of pneumonia.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/mrsa...
Staph bacteria was in Emporia long before any Somalis came to town. Quit trying to turn every post into a racist rant.
November 19, 2007 at 6:40 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
I wonder about locker rooms-- have schools in our area begun anything new to keep their locker rooms and especially showers clean? It sounds like just sweeping and mopping is no longer enough. What about court burns and scrapes? I wonder if anything new is being done to care for them? Just wondering since I don't think you can just mop a basketball court.
November 19, 2007 at 7:17 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
siamesefred (anonymous) says...
I can tell you that my son in a North Lyon County junior high heard a full presentation on staph avoidance. He's even asked me if the athlete's foot between his toes might be staph!
I do know that students have to bring everything home from their gym lockers on Fridays so the janitors can clean them. My assumption is they're washing down the lockers with heavy-duty stuff.
November 19, 2007 at 8:19 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
orig_patriot (anonymous) says...
I know that the Manhattan High School had a substantial outbreak that originated in the football team's locker room. MHS stepped up their education outreach, in concert with the Health Department, but only after a little bit of "encouragement" from parents. 13 were diagnosed, with 1 hospitalized, this one eventually loss a tip of one of his fingers. The key, as you have id'd, is education amongst the students, families and community and of course, increased vigilance in regards to the cleaning regimen is of utmost importance, especially in the locker rooms. Though all of us can be carriers, if given the right environment, this bug is serious and can cause sunstantial difficulties for the vulnerable.
Good luck!
November 19, 2007 at 12:28 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Penny (anonymous) says...
MRSA was in Emporia long before the Somalians, so was tuberculosis, HIV, rudeness and bad drivers. Also, MRSA is seen nationwide, though not as much as the media would have you believe. One of the main reasons "superbugs" like MRSA develop is our overuse/misuse of antibiotics. Something to think about the next time you are ill.
November 19, 2007 at 1:49 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
methusla (anonymous) says...
siamesefred;
I was not attacking any single Somali or Somalians as a people I merely asked a simple question, but you on the other hand saw fit to single me out and attack me by calling me a racist and accusing me of trying to turn this forum into a racist ranting forum.
I suggust you read the User Poster Policy Agreement for this posting forum, especially the third paragraph, and see if you don't agree that you made a potentially slanderous or libelous comment about me.
Why would you call me a racist for asking a simple question?
Also I suggest you go to the World Health Organization website and educate yourself on the facts as to which countries in the world have the highest incedences of various diseases, before you attack someone for asking a simple question.
November 19, 2007 at 4:28 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
methusla (anonymous) says...
siamesefred;
Oh and by the way this form of Staff infection is a completly new form of Staff infection that is anti-biotic resistant, Where do you think it came from, If you know please inform us, oh by the way this is not an attack on you personally, I am again merely informing and asking a question.
November 19, 2007 at 4:34 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )