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Drug-Proof Superbug Turns Deadly

Antibiotic-resistant staph kills more Americans than AIDS

By Sam Gale Rosen,  Newser Staff

Posted Oct 16, 2007 11:26 PM CDT
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(Newser) – An antibiotic-resistant strain of staph kills more Americans each year than HIV, accounting for almost 19,000 deaths annually, the first national stats on the superbug reveal. The super-staph is treatable but can quickly lead to dangerous "flesh-eating" infections. "We really need to be on guard against these emerging organisms," one epidemiologist tells the Washington Post.

Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, most commonly attacks the very young and very old, and African Americans are also particularly at risk. "In the last five weeks I've taken care of five children who were sick enough to be hospitalized and require intensive care. This is a very dangerous disease," says a Chicago doctor.

Fred Bledsoe, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, holds a vial of the bacteriophage his staph infection was treated with in the former Soviet Union's Republic of Georgia.
Fred Bledsoe, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, holds a vial of the bacteriophage his staph infection was treated with in the former Soviet Union's Republic of Georgia.   (KRT Photos)
In the undated photograph released by West Middlesex University Hospital in England on Monday Sept. 17, 2007, junior doctor Naomi Smith wears a new uniform which could replace the traditional white coat as part of the fight against hospital superbugs. The short-sleeved blue tunics with pockets are made of quick-drying...
In the undated photograph released by West Middlesex University Hospital in England on Monday Sept. 17, 2007, junior doctor Naomi Smith wears a new uniform which could replace the traditional white coat...   (Associated Press)
Bacteria
Bacteria   (Magnum Photos)
Bacteria
Bacteria   (Getty Images)
Petri dish used to grow bacteria
Petri dish used to grow bacteria   (Magnum Photos)
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More on the research into a "huge public health problem"
New York Times

More on the extent of the problem and some possible remedies
WebMD

Abstract of the journal article
Journal of the American Medical Association

Health • US

 
medicine • bacteria • staph infections • superbug • antibiotics • infection • epidemiology • drug resistant • MRSA

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