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Living with MRSA: Nearly Ten Years On

I have MRSA – to be specific I have HA-MRSA.  MRSA is a superbug – its full is name methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteria – the HA denotes I contracted it in hospital – if I had contracted it outside of hospital it would be denoted CA-MRSA – community acquired MRSA.

Superbugs are a group of microorganisms that are resistant to at least one or more commonly used antibiotics.  The commonly accepted list of superbugs is as follows:

MRSA  – (Staphylococcus aureus strains resistant to multiple antibiotics) , VRE (Enterococcus species resistant to vancomycin), PRSP (Streptococcus pneumoniae strains resistant to penicillin), ESBLs (Escherichia coli and other Gram-negative bacteria resistant to antibiotics such as cephalosporins and monobactams) and multiple drug-resistant Clostridium difficile.

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MRSA Revisited: “Out, D-a-m-n-e-d Spot! Out, I Say!”

Four or five months ago when I was doing my routine self-breast check I found a small pea sized lump on my breastbone, nestled in my cleavage.

A quick check with our doctor at the time confirmed what I had first thought — a fatty lump or sebaceous cyst — nothing to be concerned about.

Continue reading → MRSA Revisited: “Out, D-a-m-n-e-d Spot! Out, I Say!”

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Copper Reduces Nosocomial Infections by 58%

When I was teaching Public Health at the graduate level at UMDNJ, the notion of how nosocomial infections  spread was a major source of my research intrigue.  What constitutes a nosocomial infection?  Patient-to-patient MRSA?  The patient’s own flora?  A rouge and evil nurse?  The answer to all those questions is a resounding, “Yes!”

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Cedar Needles Fight MRSA

MRSA is a deadly SuperBug and the University of Missouri has found a smart way to fight that sort of deadly methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus: Cedar Needles.  MRSA is on the rise. Thirty years ago, staph MRSA infections were at 3%. In 2003, that number rose to 64%. Since 2005, almost 19,000 people in the USA died from MRSA complications.

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Nosocomial C-diff is Coming to Kill You

C-Diff knows where you go when you’re feeling ill, and it is coming to kill you.  C-Diff — Clostridium difficile — is bacterium that lives in your colon and it makes you intensively ill.  Some health experts believe C-diff is more deadly than MRSA and, the most sickening part of C-Diff, is that is finds its best footing for infecting you in a hospital.

Continue reading → Nosocomial C-diff is Coming to Kill You