Seasonal Colds and the Flu: Epidemic or Exaggeration?

Seasonal colds and the flu are something that many are familiar with. They have symptoms ranging from common things like a sore throat and running nose, to body aches and just generally feeling ill. However, for Carlos Don, an athletic 12 year old, the common symptoms were a precursor to a severe bacterial infection by the name of MRSA. What his parents assumed was a normal seasonal illness turned out to be a devastating and ultimately fatal infection (Clemmitt 1). MRSA is a strain of the staph bacterium that has grown resistant to the usual treatment of methicillin, which gave the disease its name Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus. It was first noticed in the early 1940’s but has grown increasing dangerous in the past few years (Gilboy 1). One of the first signs is a small red bump that will appear to be a spider and can quickly turn into a life-threatening ailment. In the bacteria’s later stages it can cause things such as necrosis of soft tissues and even hemorrhaging pneumonia (Gilboy 1). There are two forms of MRSA, Community-acquired (CA) and Hospital-acquired (HA). CA occurs typically in large gatherings of people in a community setting, such as a camp or athletic event, and HA occurs when a patient contracts the staph virus after 72 hours or longer in a hospital stay (DeRoin 1). As a whole, MRSA is becoming a more prominent threat because of its adaptation to becoming resistant to treatment. It is suspected that there are several causes of this. The medical industry and has taken to a habit of over prescribing the antibiotics for minor things which do not always need medication in order to please both the pharmacy and the patients desires to have pills (Clemmitt 3) This can be a problem because antibiotics can ... ... middle of paper ... ...ymptoms. This is known as asymptomatic colonization. It is prevalent in long term care facilities such as retirement homes or assisted living homes. McNeil and her associates mention that older patients are more likely die from MRSA than younger patients. It can cause elderly patients existing medical issues to get worse or even cause a dangerous additional sickness. A controversial issues regarding which patients should be admitted has arisen due to the prompting that those who are known to have MRSA may be denied access. Although it is suggested that quote “person to person” transmission is uncommon. Isolation of affected individuals and isolation should only be used under extreme circumstances so those afflicted are not under distress. Education on how to handle situations and proper cleanliness are both important factors in reducing the risks of spreading MRSA.