I just discovered that Robin Cook’s latest book, Critical, deals with a MRSA epidemic. In the book a woman, Laurie Montgomery, investigates the cause of the epidemic and it will be interesting to see how well MR. Cook knows MRSA and what we might learn from his research and conclusions.
I am just glad that Robin Cook took this on as a subject as it will help spread the word and maybe instill a little more fear of what the real MRSA epidemic can become.

Researchers contaminated coins with MRSA and found that the MRSA bugs survived after two weeks of storage at room temperature. Things like this seem to almost make people act less afraid instead of more afraid. Like the doctors you talk to who shrug at MRSA and say “Oh well we are all carrying it” like there is nothing to be done. But none of this changes our very real number one defense: handwashing. It is not new to anyone that money is dirty. Hopefully people will take studies like this as a reason to remember to wash their hands thoroughly and not to get the idea that there is nothing we can do since it is everywhere. It may be everywhere, but I don’t have a big boil from it yet and I still plan to do all I can to avoid even having one of them. I hope you do, too.

I have been ill for the last two months and have not written but I am finally better and catching up on the MRSA news. Unfortunately it looks like not too much has changed except it is spreading more. My daughter has been in remission for two months and we are hoping that it never returns.
I met a young man who had just had a beautiful tattoo on his arm that had a funny looking hole along one of the lines. I told him it looked like MRSA and then didn’t see him for two months. When I next saw him he had been to a doctor and treated the MRSA but the tattoo was ruined, covered in deep scars from the many boils that erupted along every line. He had gone to a friend for the tattoo. IF you are considering a tattoo please make sure and use a reputable place. I know people who are now buying and taking their own needle sets to get tattooed and it is not a bad idea but keep in mind that it doesn’t have to come from the needles. The artist might be infected himself and still pass the microbes on to you even wearing gloves if he happens to touch his nose (where the MRSA microbes reside) and then continues working on you. Myself I think my tattoo days are over!!!!
Take care all and I hope to find some good news to report here soon.

There have been numerous reports coming out of Europe about a new strain of MRSA spreading like wildfire. It has developed among intensively farmers animals on the continent according to a new report from the Soil Association.
In the Netherlands, which was though to be eradicated of MRSA, 40% of dutch pigs and 50% of Dutch pig farmers have been found to carry farm-animal MRSA caused by hight levels of antibiotics used in intensive farming. This new strain of MRSA has developed among intensively farmed pigs, chickens, and other livestock on the Continent Farm animal MRSA has already transferred to farmers. farm workers and their families in the Netherlands, causing serious health impacts. 40% of Dutch pigs and 50% of pig farmers have been found to carry farm animal related MRSA.
In the Netherlands, farm animal MRSA has been found in 20% of pork, 21% of chicken and 3% of beef on sale to the public. It has not yet been found in the UK livestock or meat products, neither the government nor the FSA area carrying surveys to find out seeing no need for more wide scale testing.
“There is no current evidence that food-producing animals form a reservoir. Of MRSA infections in the UK.
What I have not found about this is exactly what the new strain of MRSA is and how differently it might treat a person. What kind of MRSA are they talking about? Getting boils or some kind of flesh eating disease of just indigestion, (doubtful!). I will be searching for this information.
I really hope this is a paranoid though process and not the way it will go at all.

June 26, 2007 the results and implications from the first nationwide MRSA Prevalence Study will be discussed at APIC’s 34th Annual Conference & International meeting. This [prevalence study exceeded all previous estimates and will provide out first picture of the threat MRSA poses to patients in facilities. This included all patients including acute care, cancer, cardiac, pediatric, rehabilitation and long term care. This Prevalence Study was financed by the APIC and data from more than 1,200 healthcare facilities in all fifty states was used to determine the current threat of MRSA.There have been a few national MRSA estimates that were limited in scope and size and therefore inaccurate.
Journalists wishing to participate in the press briefing in person or by telephone and/or arrange interviews please cal Jonathan Osmundsen at 202-261-2869, email Jonathan.Osmundsen@mslpr.com

Several recent studies imply that there are essential oils that can help in the fight against MRSA. First there is tea tree oil which I have mentioned before and has now been tested in two different studies. It is a key ingredient in StaphaSeptic ointment and can be used directly on boils and rashes or applied to the nose where MRSA is carried as well as used in body washes. Some people are becoming immune to the cream ointment commonly prescribed by doctors for the nose called Mupirocin or Bactroban and turning to Tea tree oil. I Have been using it thus since the doctors here won’t prescribe Bactroban or anything for those who are caretakers of or in frequent contact with people carrying MRSA. IN another study the combination of patchouli, tea tree, geranium, lavender essential oils and grapefruit seed extract were found to be effective against MRSA. The same research team found that a blend of essential oils including tea tree oil encased in a shell of dead yeast cells attacks and cures MRSA. The essential oil Lavender was also found to be effective against MRSA. Most health food stores will carry all of these essential oils and some can be even found in pharmacies. As immunity to antibiotics continues to be a problem with the evolution of the MRSA bacterium natural and alternative treatments and cures will become more and more important.

The University of Strathclyde’s Institute for Drug Research, or the SIDR, is bringing together scientists to focus on the discovery of natural products that could lead to new medical products. Their hope is to find new drugs to fight diseases such as cancer and resistant infections like MRSA. CABI, a leading bioservices organization, has one of the largest genetic collections of fungi, over 28,000 strains, which the SIDR will be screening to identify compounds that could be potentially developed into drugs that will combat many diseases. There are already drugs derived from fungi such ad penicillin and this huge collection of fungi gives hope to many, many, more for the future. Fungal antibiotics stimulate the production of human antibiotics which will kill bacterial and viral infections. I expect we will be hearing more about fungal and Phage Therapies as the search for a cure continues with good results coming from both, perhaps used in conjunction.

LAS VEGAS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Today at the 2007 CLEAN Show, Milliken® & Company, one of the world’s largest privately-held textile and chemical manufacturers, announced BioSmart™, a new antimicrobial-charged fabric technology that harnesses the sanitizing power of EPA-registered chlorine bleach* to help reduce the spread of infection-causing bacteria and viruses, including emerging antibiotic-resistant microbes like MRSA. Products made with BioSmart are key to effective infection prevention strategies and programs in the workplace, in community settings and at home.

“BioSmart extends the capabilities of EPA-registered chlorine base sanitizers – proven hygienic agents that do not promote resistant microbes – to maintain an effective antimicrobial barrier against contamination,” said Travis Greer, senior technologist for Milliken’s Apparel and Specialty Fabrics division “We’re excited to partner with leading manufacturers to bring BioSmart products to market.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Staph bacteria are one of the most common causes of skin infection in the United States and are a common cause of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) like pneumonia, surgical wound infections and bloodstream infections. While the majority of MRSA infections occur among patients in healthcare settings, it is becoming more common among competitive sports participants and people within community settings including schools, daycare facilities, health clubs and prisons.

BioSmart can be applied to synthetics, cotton and poly/cotton fabrics and are ideal for industries where bacterial contamination is a concern, including food processing and services, healthcare, public safety, hospitality, sports apparel, activewear and military.

BioSmart fabrics are non-irritating to the skin and have passed the ISO skin irritation and skin sensitivity tests. It is both durable and effective for the life of most garments — the fabric technology literally recharges after every washing so it is always functioning at full strength thus providing a longer shelf life and optimizing value for manufacturers, laundries and consumers alike. In addition, BioSmart fabrics are odorless, dry quickly and wick moisture.

BioSmart is currently available in butcher coats and other garments for the food safety and processing industries through G&K Services. Product plans are under way with a number of manufacturers in the healthcare, uniform and consumer products markets.

BioSmart is a patent-pending textile technology that binds chlorine molecules to the surface of fabrics. Independent, outside testing has demonstrated that when BioSmart fabrics are laundered according to care instructions with EPA-registered chlorine bleach*, the chlorine killed 99.9 percent of common bacteria and viruses including Salmonella Choleraesuis, Escherichia Coli, MRSA, and Hepatitis A.

Milliken will demonstrate BioSmart at the 2007 CLEAN Show, June 11-14, at the Las Vegas Convention Center. For more information about BioSmart, contact Milliken at (864) 503-2322.

About Milliken & Company®

Founded in 1865, Milliken & Company is a privately held textile and chemical company that employs approximately 10,000 associates worldwide. Milliken operates nearly 50 manufacturing facilities in the U.S. and eight countries. Having over 2,000 patents issued or applied for, the company produces over 19,000 high performance products. To learn more about Milliken, please visit the Company’s web sites at www.milliken.com and at www.millikenapparelfabrics.com.

Approval has been given by the USFDA for use of the combination of six bacterial viruses or bacteriophages as a food additive. These bacteriophages are to be used on ready-to-eat meats and poultry to kill strains of listeria monocytogenes prior to their packaging. Listeria monocytogenes can cause infection in pregnant women, infants and those with compromised immune systems. This is a major breakthrough for Phage Therapy because the next step has to be approval for Bacteriophages for humans if it is being used in human’s food. There are still those who worry about long term effects of using phages but I forsee these fears as being groundless as time will tell. When I first started researching Phage Therapy I was finding about one article a month if I was lucky but now I am finding them weekly as the world’s eyes open up. No one sees phages replacing antibiotics completely but they are expected to work along with antibiotics and occasionally where antibiotics fail completely as in the case of VRSA. So here’s to the future of Bacteriophages and kudos for the USFDA approval of them!

I like the inventions pouring onto the market designed to eliminate microbial infections in hospitals and other places where microbes concentrate. There is antimicrobial equipment for the sports field and they are even talking about putting antimicrobial turf on the football fields. For hospitals I am reading about antimicrobial clothing for patients and medical staff, flooring, and equipment. The most recent is SilvaGard, designed for preventing the spread of deadly medical device related infections like those often spread by catheters. All of these things and better housekeeping in general bode for safer hospital stays but will do little or nothing for what is already unleashed on the public in the form of CA MRSA. CA MRSA is now constantly evolving into new strains working its way to being the true Super Bug that cannot be beaten with current or even future antibiotics as it learns one by one to feed on what is designed to kill it becoming stronger and stronger. Even if there is never another case of the hospital acquired Super Bug, we will still have to deal with what is quickly spreading through the general population at an alarming rate. While we applaud all of the measures to stop MRSA inside of hospitals, we have to remember that the beast is already loosed and at our door.