staph infections

14 Stories

3-Year-Old Skins Knee, Ends Up Losing Both Legs

'He wasn't supposed to make it'

(Newser) - Kids skin their knees all the time, only to be fixed by a Band-Aid and a hug. Unfortunately, that did not suffice in a devastating case out of California. After skinning his knee in October, 3-year-old Beauden Baumkirchner underwent at least 18 surgeries over two months spent in an intensive...

Woman Left Paralyzed After Sharing Makeup Brush

MRSA bacteria invaded her body

(Newser) - Jo Gilchrist borrowed a friend's makeup brush recently, using it to sweep makeup onto her face—including over a pimple. Soon after, in February, she noticed a "dull ache" in her body. Initially unconcerned, the 27-year-old Australian called a doctor when she was in such pain she couldn'...

3rd NFL Player in Tampa Gets MRSA Infection

Players' union says the league needs to ramp up protection

(Newser) - Game called on account of staph infection? The Buccaneers and Eagles are playing tomorrow as scheduled, but the NFL players' union considered telling members to skip it after a third Tampa player was diagnosed this week with a nasty MRSA infection, reports Bleacher Report . Rookie Johnthan Banks is the unlucky...

Dangerous Staph Germs Found at US Beaches

Bacteria cause nasty skin infections and pneumonia

(Newser) - Dangerous staph bacteria have been found in sand and water for the first time at five public beaches along the coast of Washington, and scientists think the state is not the only one with this problem. The germ is MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus—a hard-to-treat bug once rarely seen...

Super-Acne Resists Drugs
 Super-Acne Resists Drugs 
Apr 14, 2009 2:15 AM CDT

Super-Acne Resists Drugs

Resistant bacteria strain increasingly defies antibiotics

(Newser) - As if regular old zits weren't bad enough, awkward teens now have a new worst nightmare: antibiotic-resistant super-acne. Dermatologists say the bacteria that causes pimples is increasingly immune to common treatments, reports MSNBC. And while acne may not be a life-threatening condition, the frequent prescription of antibiotics to treat it...

New Superbug Highlights Poor Hospital Hygiene

Deadly C. diff., aided by over-prescription of antibiotics, is on the rise

(Newser) - A deadly new superbug—beefed up by the over-prescription of antibiotics and spread by dirty hospitals and nursing homes—is raising concern in the medical community, MSNBC reports. The so-called C. diff is a mutated form of a benign bug typically transmitted in unsanitary medical facilities, especially bathrooms. Cases are...

Doctors Fear Flu-Superbug Combo
Doctors Fear Flu-Superbug Combo
Apr 26, 2008 6:51 PM CDT

Doctors Fear Flu-Superbug Combo

Mix kills 2 kids in Boston after taking 22 lives last year

(Newser) - Doctors nationwide took notice yesterday when two Boston kids died of a combined flu and fatal superbug—an increasingly common mix, ABC News reports. The blend of influenza and the staph infection MRSA killed 22 people last year, a huge jump from three cases the year before. Now, doctors fear...

Screening Isn't Slowing Staph: Study
Screening
Isn't Slowing Staph: Study
Mar 12, 2008 11:09 AM CDT

Screening Isn't Slowing Staph: Study

Researchers back more cost-effective, targeted testing to catch superbug

(Newser) - Widespread screening of hospital patients for the drug-resistant staph bacteria MRSA doesn’t appear to reduce the number of infections, a new study finds. Swiss researchers screened more than 10,000 patients for the superbug when they were admitted to the University of Geneva Hospitals. Another 10,000 weren’t...

Superbug Strikes Gay Men
Superbug Strikes Gay Men
Jan 15, 2008 7:54 AM CST

Superbug Strikes Gay Men

Resistant new strain of MRSA spreading fast

(Newser) - A new strain of the "flesh-eating" bacteria MRSA is spreading rapidly among gay men in Boston and San Francisco and there are warnings it could extend to a larger population, the New York Times reports. The drug-resistant strain seems to be spreading largely by sexual contact, but it can...

Staph Strain Explodes Immune Cells
Staph Strain Explodes Immune Cells
Nov 12, 2007 4:30 AM CST

Staph Strain Explodes Immune Cells

Part of puzzle explains infection's deadly punch

(Newser) - A key reason why a powerful strain of drug-resistant staph infections known as MRSA has proven so deadly is because it produces a compound that causes immune cells to explode, a new study in Nature concludes. The finding helps explain why MRSA, usually found in hospitals in patients with weakened...

Hospitals Ramp Up Screening for Superbug

Four Chicago facilities will test all new patients for the staph infection

(Newser) - Four hospitals in the Chicago area will start screening all patients for drug-resistant "superbug" bacteria, the Chicago Tribune reports. The intensive screening is known as "search and destroy" in Europe, but it is uncommon in the US. The moves comes as hospitals around the nation evaluate safety procedures...

Superbug Shuts Down Entire School District

23 schools disinfected after single case of drug-resistant staph

(Newser) - A single confirmed infection of antibiotic-resistant staph has convinced officials to shut down all 23 schools of an eastern Kentucky district so cleaners can scour classrooms, cafeterias, locker rooms, buses and playgrounds. The district superintendent called the massive disinfection a "preventive measure" to ward off a large-scale outbreak of...

Drug-Proof Superbug Turns Deadly
Drug-Proof Superbug
Turns Deadly
Oct 16, 2007 11:26 PM CDT

Drug-Proof Superbug Turns Deadly

Antibiotic-resistant staph kills more Americans than AIDS

(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...

Staph Infection Rate Stuns Experts
Staph Infection Rate Stuns Experts
Jun 25, 2007 4:39 PM CDT

Staph Infection Rate Stuns Experts

Eye-opening numbers on antibiotic-resistant 'superbugs' dwarf previous estimates

(Newser) - Over a million hospital patients contract a dangerous, drug-resistant staph infection every year, a rate 10 times more than previously thought. Tens of thousands infected with antibiotic-resistant "superbugs" may die from what officials call one of the nation's most serious public-health threats, today's Chicago Tribune reports.

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