Andrew Clem home
Andrew Clem banner

Blog post


Monthly archives
(all categories)


October 19, 2007 [LINK / comment]

Staph infection from hell

The latest contagious disease scare raises questions about whether the seriousness of the problem has been magnified by news reports. A student in Bedford County died of the methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), but it may be that it was only reported nationally because of recent articles in medical journals. Now there are many reports from other states along the East Coast, but is unclear whether this indicates that the disease is actually spreading or not. Hospitals have been known as a breeding ground for germs for many years, and this outbreak may force some of them to finally open up their records on infectiousness, so that people will know which ones to avoid. (That's the only way the hospitals will ever shape up.) In any case, many schools across the region are being closed while janitors scrub and disinfect floors and exposed surfaces. See Washington Post . In any case, we had all better read up on MRSA and take the necessary precautions when we go out into the public. In a situation like this, ignorance can easily lead to panic. The Centers for Disease Control explains what the bacteria is, and how to avoid catching it. (I put that link on the Red Cross of the Blue Ridge Web site yesterday.) Antimicrobial resistance stems from from the overuse of antibiotics, which allows bacteria to evolve and become immune to standard treatments. In much of Latin America, people can easily obtain antibiotics and other drugs that are only available by prescription in the United States. Doctors are often too expensive, and people get used to self-prescribing with antibiotics, and it is possible that that custom has been brought here by Latin American immigrants.

Posted (or last updated or commented upon): 19 Oct 2007, 1: 30 AM

(unformatted URL)
      .



This post is over a week old, so comments are closed.


© Andrew G. Clem. All rights reserved. Your use of this material signifies your acceptance of the Terms of use.


Hits on this page (single blog post) since July 2, 2007:

Category archives:
(all years)



This (or that) year's
blog highlights

NOTE: Thus far, only blog posts related to politics and baseball are included in this list.

Blog highlights have been compiled for the years 2010-2012 thus far, and eventually will be compiled for earlier years, back to 2002.


Explanation

The "home made" blog organization system that I created was instituted on November 1, 2004, followed by several functional enhancements in subsequent years. I make no more than one blog post per day on any one category, so some posts may cover multiple news items or issues. Blog posts appear in the following (reverse alphabetical) order, which may differ from the chronological order in which the posts were originally made:

  1. Wild birds (LAST)
  2. War
  3. Science & Technology
  4. Politics
  5. Latin America
  6. Culture & Travel
  7. Canaries ("Home birds")
  8. Baseball (FIRST)