Cholesterol Lowering Drug May Render Staph Bacteria Harmless

In their efforts to develop new treatments for drug-resistant staph infections, scientists have obtained positive results using a cholesterol lowering drug that never made it to market. Researchers believe that cholesterol reducing compounds known as squalene synthase inhibitors may work on staph infections, including methicillin resistant staph, by rendering the bacteria vulnerable to the [...]

National Handwashing Awareness Week

December 2 – 8, 2007 is National Handwashing Awareness Week in the United States, and schools across the country are taking the opportunity to remind students that handwashing saves lives. Handwashing is the most important measure individuals can take to prevent the spread of infection and illness, according to the Centers for Disease Control [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Connecticut Officials Respond to Community Acquired MRSA Cases in Nine Towns

Connecticut cases of community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphyloccus aureus (MRSA) ballooned 177% during a 6 year period, according to Department of Public Health statistics released by the state. The skyrocketing community-acquired infection rate far outpaced the 1.6% increase in hospital-acquired MRSA infections during the same period. Community-acquired MRSA is an antibiotic-resistant staph infection contracted in [...]

Flu Shots Play a Key Role in Preventing Staph Infections

Flu season is here, and the medical community is advising the public that flu vaccines are more important than ever. Not only can flu shots decrease the risk of contracting influenza – they may actually reduce the risk of staph infections, including virulent strains like methicillin-resistant staph (MRSA).
Symptoms of the flu, like coughing and [...]