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| Danger Everywhere!
A microscopic bacterium can knock you down without warning |
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By DeAnn Lubell
 Copyright Dennis Kunkel Microscopy, Inc. Staphylococcus Aureus bacterium as seen through a microscope. |
A ruthless monster has penetrated our environment with a tenacious hunger to harm or destroy flesh and organs. It slinks about undetected by the human eye, and its power renders useless all normal means of eradication. Those who have battled this killer call it “the super germ.” Its formal name is Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus.
I fought the infection in 2006. It nearly took my life; but after several weeks, I prevailed in the war.
We all carry bacterial germs on our skin and clothes; and because various strains of these germs linger on every public surface imaginable, there is no way to avoid contact with them. Most germs are harmless. However, lethal strains can stow away on your skin or in your nose and incubate for months. Healthy people with fortified immune systems generally avoid infections — but not always. For the unlucky few, the mighty MRSA bug — most commonly acquired in hospitals and showing up more and more in our everyday surroundings — assaults us when we least expect it.
According to Dr. Shubha Kerkar, an infectious diseases and HIV medicine specialist in Palm Springs, the commonly found bacteria Staphylococcus Aureus had been around a few billion years before the debut of the staph-fighting antibiotic penicillin in 1941, for which Alexander Fleming won a Nobel Prize in medicine. The bacteria developed a resistance to penicillin within two to three years. Pharmaceutical labs tried creating synthetic antibiotics — each one with more germ-fighting power than the previous.
When methicillin premiered in 1960, almost simultaneously Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus appeared.
“The truly significant strains of MRSA became prevalent in hospitals in the 1980s,” Kerkar says. “This is when it be-came known as ‘the hospital bug.’ Now, MRSA infections are prevalent in and out of hospital settings and in the community.”
My personal fight with MRSA began overnight with a lump the size of a walnut appearing on my face. My cheek felt on fire. A terrible pain and high fever gripped my body. Palm Springs dermatologist Timothy Jochen put me on a strong antibiotic to fight the obvious infection. Within a few days, even on heavy antibiotics, my condition worsened. Jochen arranged for me to receive intravenous treatments twice a day of Vancomycin, one of the strongest antibiotics available.
Lurking in the Open
How I contracted an MRSA infection remains a mystery. I was physically run-down from work, stress, and lack of sleep. My immune system, compromised and weakened, made me a target for the
MRSA germ.
“You want to keep your immune system up,” warns Marcia Catania, a registered nurse/infection control practitioner with JFK Memorial Hospital in Indio. “You have to take personal responsibility with getting enough rest, a healthy diet, and proper hygiene. MRSA lives for hours on surfaces.
“At a hospital level, we at JFK Memorial Hospital make sure that our housekeeping staff wipe down every inch of every surface after use,” Catania continues. “Keeping rooms, equipment, and hospital workers clean and sterilized is the main tool to prevent the spread of MRSA. That goes for the individual at home or in public. Take the proper precautions like using liners on public restroom toilet seats and flush the toilet with your foot instead of your hand. Use a paper towel to turn off the faucet and to open the door when you leave. We all have to watch out for ourselves and think of cleanliness and sanitation at all times.”
Since my bout with MRSA, I have learned that we are not alone even when we think we are. Millions of good and bad living organisms thrive on everything surrounding us. We cannot see them, but they are there. The worst place to pick up an infectious bug is in the hospital, whether you are a patient or visitor. Doctor and dentist offices, nursing homes, labor rooms, nurseries, and preschools also are breeding grounds for MRSA.
Acrylic nail wearers must be careful. Bacteria can hide in the fungus between the nail and the acrylic. Be conscious of unsterilized grooming tools.
Other top MRSA risks include airplane restrooms, tattoo parlors, piercing parlors, public gyms, public restrooms, elevator buttons, magazines in doctors’ offices, shopping carts, and gas pumps.
The Infectious Diseases Association of America has published guidelines on strategies in treatments and prevention of MRSA. These guidelines are implemented with due diligence, Kerkar says. Local hospitals hold education and counseling sessions for physicians, nurses, and other staff. Medical education committees have designed and held symposiums, seminars, and lectures on the topic. Once a month, health practitioners from the Inland Empire meet to discuss ways of ridding MRSA and other hard-to-control diseases.
“Judicious use of antibiotics is stressed,” Kerkar says. “Hopefully, this will influence consumers and practicing physicians to reduce the emergence of further resistance. Awareness is important. … MRSA’s spread will slow down as knowledge is disseminated.”
Photo: Mark Davidson
A sign of the times, grocery stores, such as Ralphs on Sunrise Way in Palm Springs, offer sanitary wipes at the store entrance for shopping cart handles.
Fighting the Germ
The best way to avoid MRSA is to wash your hands often with soap and warm water for at least 30 seconds and use an antibacterial sanitizer when water is unavailable. Most doctors agree this simple advice could save your life.
“You have to wash your hands,” says Dr. Lawrence Cone, an internal medicine and infectious diseases specialist in Rancho Mirage. “Every time I see a patient, I wash my hands. I must wash my hands 30 times a day. When I see someone with MRSA,
I wash for about a minute with soap and water. MRSA transmits by hand to face or nose or to each other. We have a fair amount of MRSA infections in the [Coachella] Valley, and it is a mean bug. This is the best way to control it.”
Radical remedies for MRSA are very hard on the body, causing a multitude of side effects that include nausea, fever, chills, and collapsed veins. When I went in for my first infusion of Vancomycin, I found myself in a large room of reclining chairs occupied by many people of all types.
The group of MRSA victims included an investment broker who picked the bug up from visiting a friend in the hospital, an air-conditioning/heating business owner who got an infection through a work-related wound, a retiree who had knee-replacement surgery, and an elderly woman who probably contracted it from her nursing home surroundings. Some of these people had been receiving infusions twice a day for months.
A close-knit support group continued as one left and another arrived. We were all terrified, but tried not to show our fear. One tiny microscopic organism had turned our lives upside down.
MRSA knows no boundaries as far as male or female, young or old, rich or poor. Drugs effective against it are extremely expensive. Intravenous Vancomycin costs more than a $1,000 a day on an outpatient basis. The one effective oral medication, Zyvox, can cost as much as $60 to $100 per pill. When you take into consideration that battling this super bug can take weeks, even months or years, the cost alone can be unbearable.
You need not be paranoid or avoid going out in public places. That means surrendering to a very tiny, but mighty enemy. Just be aware of this super germ and protect yourself.
Wash your hands frequently — especially after contact in public places.
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