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Deadly MRSA Staph Germ Attacks Immune System

The aggressive antibiotic-resistant staph infection responsible for thousands of recent illnesses undermines the body's defenses by causing germ-fighting cells to explode, researchers reported Sunday. Experts say the findings may help lead to better treatments.

An estimated 90,000 people in the United States fall ill each year from methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA. It is not clear how many die from the infection; one estimate put it at more than 18,000, which would be slightly higher than U.S. deaths from AIDS.

The infection long has been associated with health care facilities, where it attacks people with reduced immune systems. But many recent cases involve an aggressive strain, community-associated MRSA, or CA-MRSA. It can cause severe infections and even death in otherwise healthy people outside of health care settings.

The CA-MRSA strain secretes a kind of peptide -- a compound formed by amino acids -- that causes immune cells called neutrophils to burst, eliminating a main defense against infection, according to researchers.

The findings, from a team of U.S. and German researchers led by Michael Otto of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, appeared in Sunday's online edition of the journal Nature Medicine.

While only 14 percent of serious MRSA infections are the community associated kind, they have drawn attention in recent months with a spate of reports in schools, including the death of a 17-year-old Virginia high school student.

Both hospital-associated and community-associated MRSA contained genes for the peptides. But their production was much higher in the CA-MRSA, the researchers said.

The compounds first cause inflammation, drawing the immune cells to the site of the infection, and then destroy those cells.

The research was conducted in mice and with human blood in laboratory tests.

Within five minutes of exposure to the peptides from CA-MRSA, human neutrophils showed flattening and signs of damage to their membrane, researchers said. After 60 minutes, many cells had disintegrated completely.

"This elegant work helps reveal the complex strategy that S. aureus has developed to evade our normal immune defenses," Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, NIAID director, said in a statement. "Understanding what makes the infections caused by these new strains so severe and developing new drugs to treat them are urgent public health priorities."

Dr. George G. Zhanel, a medical microbiologist at the University of Manitoba in Canada, said the study was the first he had seen that identifies the peptides involved.

This shows at least one of the reasons CA-MRSA is able to cause serious problems, Zhanel, who was not part of the research team, said in a telephone interview.

Findings like this may help lead to better treatments, such as ways to neutralize the peptides or to activate the immune system to defeat them, he added.

Dr. Lindsey N. Shaw of the division of cell biology, microbiology and molecular biology at the University of South Florida, also was enthusiastic about the research.

"Specifically identifying a factor which seemingly makes CA-MRSA more pathogenic than HA-MRSA is a real find," Shaw, who was not part of the research group, said via e-mail. The "molecules identified in the study are indeed novel."

Zhanel noted that while hospital-based MRSA seemed to concentrate on "sick old people," the community-based strain can break out in on sports teams, prisons, cruise ships and other places where people are not necessarily sick or have weakened immune systems.

In a worrisome development, he noted that the more aggressive strains have started appearing in hospitals.

Dr. Clarence B. Creech, an assistant professor of pediatric infectious disease at Vanderbilt University, said every time scientists find a new way that staph uses to make people sick, "we open up the field of developing new vaccine targets and new drug targets."

"This is one of the papers we can look to as we develop new vaccines and drugs," Creech, who was not part of the research team, said in a telephone interview.

The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health, the German Research Council and the German Ministry of Education and Research.

Cure for superbug within reach?
Scientists claim drug destroys most virulent strains of deadly MRSA

A cure for MRSA appears to be within grasp after scientists claimed to have developed a drug that destroys the most virulent strains of the deadly superbug. The breakthrough by British researchers could save 1,600 lives a year and wipe out the highly infectious bacteria.

A landmark peer-reviewed study has found that in the lab MRSA does not develop resistance to the drug, as it does to antibiotics. Tests showed that the XF-73 "bacteriocidal" compound continued to destroy MRSA after repeated treatment, long past the stage when it would have become resistant to antibiotics.

MRSA has proved to be an intractable problem in hospitals, despite repeated government initiatives – concentrating on improved staff hygiene and deep-cleaning programmes – to eradicate it.

Doctors and patients would be able to apply the drug, carried in a gel, in the nostril to protect them from infection.

Scientists at Sussex-based Destiny Pharma are now carrying out human trials and could have a product ready within three years.

Too bad is will take another 3 years.  We have a small outbreak of it right now, here at the mission.  3 or 4 of our ladies have been to the hospital in the last 2 weeks with it.  And then two of them had adverse reactions to the antibiotics that they were given.

It is too bad. It is a nasty infection. The high school I went to had to shut down for a whole week because of an outbreak of it. One of my nephews that is a 43 yr old truck driver has it right now and is having a really hard time getting rid of it.

Brothers and Sisters,

MRSA is a fascinating infection to study, and I can tell you that they don't have nearly all the answers yet. In fact, they're still trying to define the theories. MRSA used to be an infection associated with long-term invasive medical procedures in a hospital setting (i.e. ventilator). It then began a migration to the street and the general population. It's unknown how many vehicles of transmission are actually involved. On the street, it was first known among IV drug abusers, especially those using dirty needles. At this point, we also know that it can be transmitted from carriers with open sores. On the street, the best barrier is intact skin. Even chapped skin or recently shaved skin increases a person's risk of getting MRSA. Cuts and scrapes increase the risk greatly.

We do know a few things now about prevention, and most of them involve common sense:

1 - Cover cuts and scrapes.

2 - Treat chapped skin with good moisturizing creams.

3 - Wash your hands numerous times every day, especially when you've been in public environments containing large numbers of potential germs. Wash your hands before and after using the restroom and before eating.

4 - Keep your hands and fingers out of your mouth and away from mucous membranes that are open for the reception of germs. Keep your hands and fingers away from any of your own cuts, scrapes, and chapped skin that are definitely receptors for infection. This is especially true while you are in hospitals or around people who are high risk.

5 - For people working around high risk individuals like IV drug abusers, wear protective gloves.

MRSA appears to be nearing epidemic proportions now. This is the infection that nearly killed me twice in 1998. I know now that I got it through recently shaved skin on my neck. It settled in the middle of my spine and actually dissolved part of the area of the spine that it settled in. MRSA is less dangerous in external skin infections, but it is still potentially deadly in any location. It can enter the blood system and be almost immediately fatal. There are now many thousands of cases that become potentially fatal from external sores on parts of the body that most people pay little attention to (i.e. a sore on the ankle). It's important to note that it MOST likely didn't start out as MRSA, rather a simple cut or scrape that became a receptor for other bacteria and germs. A recent fatality that I'm aware of was an infection on the ankle. The person who died was a doctor. There's an excellent chance that original proper treatment and covering of the cut or scrape on his ankle would have prevented the infection completely. By proper, I'm talking about cleaning, any number of common antiseptics, and a simple band-aid to cover a minor wound.

It's common these days where tons of money is spent on facilities where there have been outbreaks of MRSA. It's best to spend small amounts of money in prevention, even in your own home. One of the BEST and least expensive methods of prevention involves cleaning with a solution of 1 part bleach to 10 parts water. This is also an excellent solution to clean yourself in an emergency situation where you think there might be a high risk for all kinds of potential illnesses or infections. This simple solution of 1 part bleach to 10 parts water burns a little bit, but it kills literally EVERYTHING and it's CHEAP. Many first responders to car accidents and other emergencies keep gallon containers of this bleach solution in their trunks ready to use. It isn't known how long this solution remains potent, so it's a good idea for people who regularly respond to emergencies to make a new solution at least once a month.

There are LESS EFFECTIVE commercial products that usually come in foil wraps that people can use in emergency situations to clean an area. This would be for use when a person is not near a place to properly wash with soap and water. Getting another person's blood on you would be a perfect example of an emergency situation. If you have chapped, open, cut, or scraped skin in the area of contact, extra care should be taken as quickly as possible. This would be a good example case of using the bleach solution. Let's say you were helping a person in a car accident. You obviously have no idea what potential illnesses or infections are involved. ESPECIALLY DURING SUCH SITUATIONS, KEEP YOUR HANDS AND FINGERS AWAY FROM YOUR MOUTH AND MUCOUS MEMBRANES. This is just one reason why professionals wear protective gloves and masks in high risk situations. The mouth and nose are a quick way of getting just about anything. The eyes are a lesser risk, BUT THE EYES ARE STILL A RISK!

Brothers and Sisters, I hope this information helps you some. This is very serious and isn't anything to ignore these days. As a survivor of one of the most dangerous forms of MRSA (internal), I can tell you there is no way to imagine how easy it is to get this infection and how hard it is to get rid of it. BLUNTLY, it's a painful and expensive nightmare that you might not live through.

My nephew's started on his face where he shaved daily. It has now spread to his lower legs and ankles. He has found that in addition to the antibiotics the Drs have given him that old fashioned homemade lye soap works the best to help clear it up. Other antiseptic soaps were not the least bit effective on the infection once it set in.

Hello Pastor Roger,

Brother, I'll be praying for your nephew. If it's already confirmed as MRSA, this should be taken very seriously. Any one of those sores would have the potential to become deadly. I don't think that the doctors know yet how some sores become deadly, but all it takes is one. Maybe it has something to do with the lymph system or smaller blood vessels carrying the infection to other parts of the body - more than just the skin. Many things about MRSA are still completely unknown. The fatality rate from it is getting worse by the day. At the same time, many other potentially deadly diseases are becoming common. This includes the comeback of many diseases we haven't seen much of in many years. Some of them were thought to be eradicated from mankind, but they are coming back more potent than ever.

This could be another sign of the times that we live in.

I agree it is a sign of the time we live in. I also think it has to do with way too many antibiotics given out in the past few decades. God did an amazing thing when He created us but doctors and the like started handing out antibiotics like candy and interfering with the bodies own defenses. Yes we treated them and got rid of our illnesses for the moment but now they are coming back with a vengence.  But it's all  in the Lord's hands and that's all the medicine I need.