Iona College Football Player Nearly Loses Leg to MRSA Infection

An antibiotic-resistant bacterial infection is being blamed for destroying the career of an up-and-coming Iona College football player. Nicholas Zaffarese, 21, contracted the superbug known as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in the fall of 2005, two years before the highly publicized outbreak that hit Iona College this fall.
Zaffarese, a former defensive lineman for Iona, [...]

MRSA Outbreak Worries Parents in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

Two students and a staff member at Ramsey Elementary School in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho have been diagnosed with the potentially fatal superbug known as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA. MRSA is the virulent and difficult to treat staph infection that claimed the lives of children in New York, Mississippi, New Hampshire, and Virginia this [...]

Death of 12-Year-Old Omar Rivera Exposes Dangers of Misdiagnosing MRSA

Brooklyn middle school student Omar Rivera visited the emergency room at Kings County Hospital two days before his death and was sent home with the allergy medication Benadryl. The 12-year-old boy died on October 14, 2007 and the cause of death was later found to be the superbug methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA.
Omar [...]

Condition of Tennessee Kindergartener with MRSA Upgraded to Stable

Doctors at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have announced that a five-year-old Murfreesboro, Tennessee girl afflicted with a severe methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection has had her condition upgraded to “stable.”  After spending almost 2 weeks in critical condition at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital and suffering damage to multiple organs, Julia’nna Clemmons has shown improvement, [...]

MRSA Scare Prompts Kentucky County to Close All Schools for Disinfection

Following the recent confirmation of at least five staph infections in Kentucky’s Pike County school district, all 23 district schools will be closed for disinfection this Monday. The closing will impact approximately 10,300 students.
Principals will oversee the sanitizing of classrooms, bathrooms, cafeterias, and hallways, as well as school buses, fields, and playgrounds. A [...]

Unlicensed Tattoo Artists Likely Responsible for Vermont MRSA Outbreak

Three cases of the aggressive strain of bacteria known as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, have been linked to a pair of unlicensed tattooists in West Rutland, Vermont. Professionals at the Rutland Regional Medical Center notified state officials about the illegal home-based tattoo shop after diagnosing MRSA infections in three people who received [...]

Students Diagnosed With MRSA at Over 20 Illinois Schools

Note: Periodic updates will be added to the bottom of this article.
Last updated on November 30, 2007.
Schools in the Chicago area and throughout the state of Illinois have reported cases of drug-resistant staph infections this month. Four American children died from the superbug methicilllin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in October 2007, prompting heightened awareness of [...]

Staph Infections More Worrisome Than SARS

News about antibiotic-resistant staph infections was the topic most closely followed by the American public last week, edging out the Iraq War, the economy, the 2008 presidential campaign, and Ellen DeGeneres’ pet adoption controversy. A survey report released by the Pew Research Center indicated that more than a quarter of Americans paid very close [...]

Toddler Hospitalized with Severe Staph Infection in Fort Worth, Texas

A three-year-old Texas boy has spent the last 10 days at Cook Children’s Medical Center in Forth Worth fighting a virulent strain of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The Associated Press reports that the MRSA infection has infiltrated young Dalton Overton’s bloodstream and is now invading his bones and head. He suffers from eczema, [...]

Disinfecting Schools May Not Curb the Spread of MRSA

Schools across the country have taken steps to disinfect common areas after learning of local staph cases, but sanitizing academic facilities is not likely to help prevent outbreaks of antibiotic-resistant staph, according to Virginia’s state epidemiologist. Dr. Carl Armstong told reporters that although heightened concern about methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is understandable, “emphasis on [...]

keep looking »