Toddler Hospitalized with Severe Staph Infection in Fort Worth, Texas
Posted on October 26, 2007
Leave a Comment
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, a skin condition that increases vulnerability to the dangerous and hard-to-treat staph infection.
After numerous cases of MRSA were reported throughout the nation this month, officials have focused on preventing the spread of the infection among school-aged children. However, little attention has been given to community-acquired staph infections in infants and toddlers like Dalton Overton.
Health professionals say that even children who are too young to attend school need to practice good hygiene and thorough hand washing, since the MRSA bacteria can be spread by any person-to-person contact. Youths with chronic skin disorders like eczema and psoriasis must be especially vigilant about hand washing and skin and wound care.
Comments
Leave a Reply