A new strain of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), once found only in pigs, now accounts for more than 20 percent of all human MRSA infections in the Netherlands.
The heavy use of antibiotics in industrialized livestock operations can account for resistant bacteria, such as MRSA. The new strain of MRSA, known as NT-MRSA, has so far primarily affected pig farmers and cattle farmers, and regions of the Netherlands with high densities of pig and cattle farms. The new strain has a high hospitalization rate, and can make people severely ill.
The Union of Concerned Scientists has estimated that 70 percent of all the antibiotics used in the United States are used as livestock feed additives. The United States does not systematically test pigs, cattle, and other food animals for MRSA. Almost 100,000 annual MRSA infections in the United States, of which almost a fifth are fatal.
Source:Organic Consumers Association December 6, 2007
Showing posts with label Infectious Disease. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Infectious Disease. Show all posts
Sunday, December 30, 2007
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.
Lyme Arthritis Study Sheds Light On Antibiotic Resistance And Persistent Joint Inflammation
Lyme disease in the U.S. is caused by a form of bacteria, the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi, infecting humans by tick bites. It typically begins with a bull's-eye skin rash, accompanied by fever, muscle aches, or other flu-like symptoms. If diagnosed early, Lyme can be treated successfully within a month with either oral or intravenous antibiotics. Nearly 60 percent of patients who do not receive antibiotic therapy early in the illness develop intermittent or persistent arthritis, particularly affecting the knees. Moreover, a small percentage of Lyme patients who do receive antibiotic therapy suffer from persistent arthritis for months or even several years after 2-3 months of oral and intravenous antibiotic therapy. This confounding condition has been termed antibiotic-refractory, or slowly resolving, Lyme arthritis.
To gain insights into the survival of spirochetes following antibiotic therapy, researchers at the Center for Immunology and Inflammatory Diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and the National Center for Infectious Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention teamed up to study antibody responses to Borrelia burgdorferi in patients with antibiotic-refractory or antibiotic-responsive Lyme arthritis. Presented in the December 2007 issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism , their findings indicate that joint inflammation persists in patients with antibiotic-refractory Lyme arthritis after the disease-spreading spirochetes have been killed.
To compare antibody responses and determine their effect on Lyme arthritis, the team tested at least 3 blood serum samples each from 41 patients with antibiotic-refractory arthritis, 23 patients with antibiotic-responsive arthritis, and 10 non-antibiotic-treated controls - arthritis patients who had contracted Lyme disease during the late 1970s before the cause of the disease was known. Samples were obtained during the period of arthritis and sometimes after several months of remission for all patient groups. The patients with antibiotic-refractory and antibiotic-responsive arthritis had a similar age range, sex distribution, and duration of arthritis prior to antibiotic therapy.
All samples were tested for IgG reactivity with Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria and 4 outer surface lipoproteins of the spirochete. Among non-antibiotic-treated patients, antibody titers to Borrelia burgdorferi remained high throughout a prolonged period of persistent arthritis, 2 to 5 years. In contrast, in patients with antibiotic-responsive arthritis, the level of antibody titers to Borrelia burgdorferi and most outer-surface proteins remained steady or decreased within the first 3 months of starting antibiotic therapy. Consistent with this finding, these patients usually experienced relief from joint swelling during a 1-month course of oral antibiotics. In patients afflicted with antibiotic-refractory arthritis, the level of antibody titers to Borrelia burgdorferi and most outer-surface antigens increased slightly during the first 1 to 3 months of treatment. These patients suffered from persistent joint swelling for a median duration of 10 months, despite 2 to 3 months of oral or intravenous antibiotics. However, by 4 to 6 months after starting antibiotic therapy, antibody titers declined to similar levels in both antibiotic-treated groups, regardless of their differences in arthritis symptoms.
"In Lyme disease, there is a great need for a test that could be used in clinical practice as a marker for spirochetal eradication," observes Dr. Allen C. Steere, the senior author of the study. Yet, as he acknowledges, ridding the body of the Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria and its surface antigens does not always bring relief from arthritis. "Increasing antibody titers in patients usually suggested the presence of live spirochetes, whereas declining titers suggested that they had been killed," he notes. "Thus, patients with Lyme arthritis who have a sustained, gradual decline in antibody reactivity probably have the nearly complete or total eradication of spirochetes from the joint as a result of antibiotic therapy, even if joint inflammation persists after the period of infection."
----------------------------
Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.
----------------------------
Article: "Antibody Responses to Borrelia burgdorferi in Patients With Antiobiotic-Refractory, Antibiotic-Responsive, or Non-Antibiotic-Treated Lyme Disease," Priya Kannian, Gail McHugh, Barbara J.B. Johnson, Rendi M. Bacon, Lisa J. Glickstein, and Allen C. Steere, Arthritis & Rheumatism, December 2007.
Source: Amy Molnar
Wiley-Blackwell
To gain insights into the survival of spirochetes following antibiotic therapy, researchers at the Center for Immunology and Inflammatory Diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and the National Center for Infectious Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention teamed up to study antibody responses to Borrelia burgdorferi in patients with antibiotic-refractory or antibiotic-responsive Lyme arthritis. Presented in the December 2007 issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism , their findings indicate that joint inflammation persists in patients with antibiotic-refractory Lyme arthritis after the disease-spreading spirochetes have been killed.
To compare antibody responses and determine their effect on Lyme arthritis, the team tested at least 3 blood serum samples each from 41 patients with antibiotic-refractory arthritis, 23 patients with antibiotic-responsive arthritis, and 10 non-antibiotic-treated controls - arthritis patients who had contracted Lyme disease during the late 1970s before the cause of the disease was known. Samples were obtained during the period of arthritis and sometimes after several months of remission for all patient groups. The patients with antibiotic-refractory and antibiotic-responsive arthritis had a similar age range, sex distribution, and duration of arthritis prior to antibiotic therapy.
All samples were tested for IgG reactivity with Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria and 4 outer surface lipoproteins of the spirochete. Among non-antibiotic-treated patients, antibody titers to Borrelia burgdorferi remained high throughout a prolonged period of persistent arthritis, 2 to 5 years. In contrast, in patients with antibiotic-responsive arthritis, the level of antibody titers to Borrelia burgdorferi and most outer-surface proteins remained steady or decreased within the first 3 months of starting antibiotic therapy. Consistent with this finding, these patients usually experienced relief from joint swelling during a 1-month course of oral antibiotics. In patients afflicted with antibiotic-refractory arthritis, the level of antibody titers to Borrelia burgdorferi and most outer-surface antigens increased slightly during the first 1 to 3 months of treatment. These patients suffered from persistent joint swelling for a median duration of 10 months, despite 2 to 3 months of oral or intravenous antibiotics. However, by 4 to 6 months after starting antibiotic therapy, antibody titers declined to similar levels in both antibiotic-treated groups, regardless of their differences in arthritis symptoms.
"In Lyme disease, there is a great need for a test that could be used in clinical practice as a marker for spirochetal eradication," observes Dr. Allen C. Steere, the senior author of the study. Yet, as he acknowledges, ridding the body of the Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria and its surface antigens does not always bring relief from arthritis. "Increasing antibody titers in patients usually suggested the presence of live spirochetes, whereas declining titers suggested that they had been killed," he notes. "Thus, patients with Lyme arthritis who have a sustained, gradual decline in antibody reactivity probably have the nearly complete or total eradication of spirochetes from the joint as a result of antibiotic therapy, even if joint inflammation persists after the period of infection."
----------------------------
Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.
----------------------------
Article: "Antibody Responses to Borrelia burgdorferi in Patients With Antiobiotic-Refractory, Antibiotic-Responsive, or Non-Antibiotic-Treated Lyme Disease," Priya Kannian, Gail McHugh, Barbara J.B. Johnson, Rendi M. Bacon, Lisa J. Glickstein, and Allen C. Steere, Arthritis & Rheumatism, December 2007.
Source: Amy Molnar
Wiley-Blackwell
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