If threats of terrorism and a looming recession aren’t enough to keep you up at night, we learned this week that drug-resistant organisms are increasing at an explosive pace.
A dangerous, flesh-eating type of staph infection is apparently more common than previously thought, striking more than 90,000 people each year and causing nearly 19,000 deaths, federal health officials reported this week. That’s more than the 12,500 people who die of AIDS each year in this country.
In addition, doctors in New York have identified another “superbug” linked to pediatric ear infections that resists 18 government-approved antibiotics.
The reports came from researchers in two separate analyses this week but they underscore the need to invest in the development of new antibiotics and to stop the unnecessary use of those already available. That misuse has allowed the germs to outsmart the available medication.
In recent years, the drug-resistant staph germ known as MRSA has become more common in hospitals, but now it’s also spreading through prisons, gyms, locker rooms and schools, according to a report in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
In the last week, an 11-year-old girl in Mississippi and a 17-year-old boy in Virginia died of the staph infection. Thankfully, many of the cases being reported by some schools are not the invasive strain that attacks vital organs.
The ear infection bug causes acute ear infections in children that require aggressive treatment. Researchers attributed the emergence of the strain in part to the overuse of antibiotics for colds and flus, which generally can’t be tamed by those medicines.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that people avoid taking antibiotics unnecessarily. But if an antibiotic is prescribed, take the full course and kill the bacteria.
Otherwise, people can take some common sense steps to protect themselves.
Wash your hands. Often.
Keep cuts and scrapes covered until healed. Avoid sharing towels or razors.
Hospitals, schools and other places where people are close together should disinfect desktops, lockers and other common surfaces.
And the state’s public health department should take a strong role in educating the public about drug-resistant bacteria.
Talk about an early Halloween fright.
