LAUREN DONOVAN
Bismarck Tribune
Belfield Police Commissioner Sharon Dorval hung a poster at the local post office with pictures of a dozen dead cats, alleging they were removed from Belfield and killed, possibly shot.
She and others are looking for more information. The cats were in various stages of decomposition, which might mean they were killed over time.
Stark County Sheriff Clarence Tuhy confirmed that one of his officers found several killed cats dumped at an oil field site northwest of town.
Tuhy said it wasn’t clear how long the animals had been there. Some were found in pieces.
“Where do you start investigating?” he asked.
One possibility is that all the cats belonged to the same person, who decided to dispose of them.
Authorities say if the cats were killed in city limits, someone could be in trouble for illegally discharging a weapon in town. Animal cruelty charges also could apply.
— Billings County Pioneer
Infection alert
A confirmed staph infection had Beulah school officials moving quickly to protect students and staff.
When a staff member-coach was diagnosed with the kind of staph bacteria that’s resistant to antibiotics on Jan. 18, it didn’t take school officials long to have students remove all their belongings from gym and weight room lockers, and disinfect the lockers and showers with a chemical spray.
The gym, locker rooms and weight rooms were temporarily quarantined from public use.
A week later, the infection was confirmed as MRSA staph, which can lead to skin infections, pneumonia and bloodstream infections, all dangerous conditions because of their resistance to common antiobiotic remedies.
It also was learned that the only means of contagion was through open wounds, and the teacher-coach was allowed to return to school so long as the affected area was covered.
In the meantime, students have been asked to follow basic safety hygiene and not share shower towels and remove gym clothing from lockers for regular washing.
In addition, the school weight room now has spray bottles of disinfectant on hand, and student athletes are asked to use them after they are done with their workouts.
— Beulah Beacon
Showing posts with label Antiobiotic Resistance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Antiobiotic Resistance. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Friday, December 14, 2007
Teacher Dies from Staph Infection
ROCKVILLE, Md. -- A Rockville teacher died Sunday evening due to complications from a virulent form of staph infection.
Merry King, 48, was a special education teacher at Herbert Hoover Middle School.
School officials said the 48-year-old had been absent from Hoover since Nov. 30 and hospitalized since early last week.
King's daughter, Charlotte Oliver, told school officials her mother had been in a coma and died five days later of complications from a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, infection.
"We're not really certain when or how she picked it up," Oliver said. "She may have had it for a while. By the time she checked into the hospital it was so acute that there wasn't a lot they could do."
"Ms. King was a beloved staff member and students in her class will be deeply affected by her death," said Hoover Middle School Principal Billie-Jean Bensen, in a letter sent home with students.
Bensen said there is no indication King's illness was related to her work at the school and there is no reason to believe anyone there has an increased risk of contracting MRSA.
The classroom in which King worked was sanitized with bleach, News4's Megan McGrath reported. Common areas at the school are scheduled to be sanitized Tuesday night. Officials said they do not believe there is a threat to students, staff or faculty at the school.
As King's family copes with the loss, they are also disinfecting the teacher's home.
Students learned of her death on Monday and said they were very upset by it.
Officials said there were grief counselors on hand at the school.
In a letter sent home to parents, the school's principal expressed condolences and at the same time moved to reassure parents that their children are safe.
As parents dropped their children off at school Tuesday, many said they were not worried about their children contracting the disease.
The Montgomery school system has had 43 cases in 31 schools this school year, primarily among student athletes, said Kate Harrison, a spokeswoman for the Montgomery County school system. There are currently only four active cases among county students. Harrison said King's case was believed to be the first since August involving a teacher.
Dozens of cases of the infection have been reported in the Washington region, but exact figures are not available because doctors are not required to report MRSA to state health authorities.
An estimated 90,000 people in the United States fall ill each year from MRSA. It is not clear how many die from the infection; one estimate put it at more than 18,000, which would be slightly higher than U.S. deaths from AIDS.
Merry King, 48, was a special education teacher at Herbert Hoover Middle School.
School officials said the 48-year-old had been absent from Hoover since Nov. 30 and hospitalized since early last week.
King's daughter, Charlotte Oliver, told school officials her mother had been in a coma and died five days later of complications from a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, infection.
"We're not really certain when or how she picked it up," Oliver said. "She may have had it for a while. By the time she checked into the hospital it was so acute that there wasn't a lot they could do."
"Ms. King was a beloved staff member and students in her class will be deeply affected by her death," said Hoover Middle School Principal Billie-Jean Bensen, in a letter sent home with students.
Bensen said there is no indication King's illness was related to her work at the school and there is no reason to believe anyone there has an increased risk of contracting MRSA.
The classroom in which King worked was sanitized with bleach, News4's Megan McGrath reported. Common areas at the school are scheduled to be sanitized Tuesday night. Officials said they do not believe there is a threat to students, staff or faculty at the school.
As King's family copes with the loss, they are also disinfecting the teacher's home.
Students learned of her death on Monday and said they were very upset by it.
Officials said there were grief counselors on hand at the school.
In a letter sent home to parents, the school's principal expressed condolences and at the same time moved to reassure parents that their children are safe.
As parents dropped their children off at school Tuesday, many said they were not worried about their children contracting the disease.
The Montgomery school system has had 43 cases in 31 schools this school year, primarily among student athletes, said Kate Harrison, a spokeswoman for the Montgomery County school system. There are currently only four active cases among county students. Harrison said King's case was believed to be the first since August involving a teacher.
Dozens of cases of the infection have been reported in the Washington region, but exact figures are not available because doctors are not required to report MRSA to state health authorities.
An estimated 90,000 people in the United States fall ill each year from MRSA. It is not clear how many die from the infection; one estimate put it at more than 18,000, which would be slightly higher than U.S. deaths from AIDS.
Montgomery Village Student Diagnosed With MRSA
MONTGOMERY VILLAGE, Md. -- A student at Montgomery Village Middle School has been diagnosed with MRSA, an antibiotic-resistant strain of staph infection.
The student is the first at the school to be diagnosed with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, school officials said.It's the 43rd case in the Montgomery County school system this year.
School officials said the student is being treated and is attending class, News4's Jane Watrel reported.
Principal Edgar E. Malker and school nurse Maureen Reges released a statement urging families of students at the school to practice good hygiene and check skin regularly for lesions.
Merry King, a middle school special education teacher in Potomac, died earlier this week from MRSA.
The Montgomery school system has had 43 cases in 31 schools this school year, primarily among student athletes, said Kate Harrison, a spokeswoman for the Montgomery County school system.
Health officials said MRSA is not found only in schools, but also in places like rec centers and health clubs.
Dozens of cases of the infection have been reported in the Washington region, but exact figures are not available because doctors are not required to report MRSA to state health authorities.
Health officials said basic hygiene can prevent the spread of the disease. Washing hands and clothes and not sharing personal articles are the best safeguards, they said.
An estimated 90,000 people in the United States fall ill each year from MRSA. It is not clear how many die from the infection; one estimate put it at more than 18,000, which would be slightly higher than U.S. deaths from AIDS.
The student is the first at the school to be diagnosed with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, school officials said.It's the 43rd case in the Montgomery County school system this year.
School officials said the student is being treated and is attending class, News4's Jane Watrel reported.
Principal Edgar E. Malker and school nurse Maureen Reges released a statement urging families of students at the school to practice good hygiene and check skin regularly for lesions.
Merry King, a middle school special education teacher in Potomac, died earlier this week from MRSA.
The Montgomery school system has had 43 cases in 31 schools this school year, primarily among student athletes, said Kate Harrison, a spokeswoman for the Montgomery County school system.
Health officials said MRSA is not found only in schools, but also in places like rec centers and health clubs.
Dozens of cases of the infection have been reported in the Washington region, but exact figures are not available because doctors are not required to report MRSA to state health authorities.
Health officials said basic hygiene can prevent the spread of the disease. Washing hands and clothes and not sharing personal articles are the best safeguards, they said.
An estimated 90,000 people in the United States fall ill each year from MRSA. It is not clear how many die from the infection; one estimate put it at more than 18,000, which would be slightly higher than U.S. deaths from AIDS.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
MRSA in the NEWS
Estimates based on a US-wide extrapolation of data collected from a number of hospital sites and recently published by the Center of Disease Control (CDC) in JAMA (Klevens, R.M., et al., Invasive Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Infections in the United States. JAMA, 2007. 298(15): p. 1763-1771) put the number of annual MRSA associated fatalities at more than 18,000. This makes MRSA infections a burden comparable to the one caused by AIDS.
The involvement of the CDC gave the report a semi-official character and massive media attention in the US. The increased public concern bears the danger of scientifically unfounded hyperactivity and even panic reactions. Besides the widely publicized school closures there have been reports of discrimination against suspected MRSA patients by employers, co-workers, and even family members.
Outside the US and the UK the issue is less prominent. However, media prominence does not correlate with the severity of the problem. In a report by the DGKH (German society for hospital hygiene) “Krank im Krankenhaus” PDF published in cooperation with Alliance Health Insurance, the number of MRSA associated fatalities was estimated at up to 50'000 (in a sample population of about 450 million).
This corresponds to a significantly higher prevalence compared to the 18'000 for the US (a population of about 300 million). Although the report was mentioned in a number of news articles there was no obvious effect on public opinion or politics.
However, there is reason to believe that the serious concerns surrounding MRSA will eventually be contained. There are number of promising treatments on the way. More importantly since MRSA is a problem of hygiene rather than therapy on a larger scale, hospitals are rapidly changing their practices. Much has been learned and continues to be learned form virtually MRSA free zones such as the Netherlands. In addition low-cost, reliable, and efficient methods for mass screening such as BCM® MRSA ELF® are made available.
One should not forget that the human costs resulting from other hygiene related microbial pandemics are much greater. One example is Shigella spp. which according to WHO estimates kills 1.6 million people every year. As in the case of MRSA such tragedy could be almost entirely prevented if proper practice and low-cost robust methods of screening were implemented.
The involvement of the CDC gave the report a semi-official character and massive media attention in the US. The increased public concern bears the danger of scientifically unfounded hyperactivity and even panic reactions. Besides the widely publicized school closures there have been reports of discrimination against suspected MRSA patients by employers, co-workers, and even family members.
Outside the US and the UK the issue is less prominent. However, media prominence does not correlate with the severity of the problem. In a report by the DGKH (German society for hospital hygiene) “Krank im Krankenhaus” PDF published in cooperation with Alliance Health Insurance, the number of MRSA associated fatalities was estimated at up to 50'000 (in a sample population of about 450 million).
This corresponds to a significantly higher prevalence compared to the 18'000 for the US (a population of about 300 million). Although the report was mentioned in a number of news articles there was no obvious effect on public opinion or politics.
However, there is reason to believe that the serious concerns surrounding MRSA will eventually be contained. There are number of promising treatments on the way. More importantly since MRSA is a problem of hygiene rather than therapy on a larger scale, hospitals are rapidly changing their practices. Much has been learned and continues to be learned form virtually MRSA free zones such as the Netherlands. In addition low-cost, reliable, and efficient methods for mass screening such as BCM® MRSA ELF® are made available.
One should not forget that the human costs resulting from other hygiene related microbial pandemics are much greater. One example is Shigella spp. which according to WHO estimates kills 1.6 million people every year. As in the case of MRSA such tragedy could be almost entirely prevented if proper practice and low-cost robust methods of screening were implemented.
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