Link: CDC Warning of Dangerous, MRSA-Related Pneumonia in Kids.
Staph—a germ that generally comes in the form of pimples or rashes that heal on their own—has caused fatal pneumonia in at least 24 young and healthy people during the 2006-2007 flu season. US researchers—led by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warn that doctors need to be on the alert for a drug-resistant form of staph called methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or MRSA that leads to life-threatening pneumonia.
Dr. Alexander Kallen of the CDC led the study and confirmed that some patients died within four days and many were not initially treated for MRSA, suggesting their doctors did not know that they were dealing with MRSA-provoked pneumonia. “It’s obviously very concerning,” Kallen said. “This is a disease that can strike otherwise very healthy people—adults and children. Also, this is a disease that follows influenza.” Kallen also indicated that the disease has implications for preparing for the flu season and a possible flu pandemic.
Kallen’s team reviewed reports of community-acquired pneumonia caused by Staph aureus between November 1, 2006 and April 30, 2007 and found that, “Overall, 51 cases were reported from 19 states.” Their findings appear in the Annals of Emergency Medicine. “More than three-quarters—79 percent—of the staph-caused pneumonia patients were infected with MRSA,” Kallen said.
The patients’ average age was 16.
