More Americans are dying from methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections than were even killed by human terrorists. Of particular concern is a strain of MRSA that produces a tissue damaging toxin. This strain, first identified in Australia in 1991, has been allowed to flourish through medical complacency. Only 10 hospitalized cases of this infection occurred in Australian hospitals in 1995, whereas there were over 35,000 Australian cases last year. Moreover, the infection has now spread worldwide. Only the Netherlands has largely escaped this massive epidemic because it had the will to seek out and destroy MRSA bacteria. Not so in the United States. American hospitals were allowed to become breeding grounds for MRSA. Many patients are becoming infected from simply being admitted to a hospital. Such patients have now brought MRSA into the community setting. The toxic strain of MRSA is so devastating that it can cause disease in an otherwise healthy individual. Any break in the skin barrier can render a normal person susceptible to a severe and sometimes fatal MRSA infection. Athletes engaging in contact sports, children attending day care centers, guests in hotels and other meeting places, are among the many groups now experiencing MRSA outbreaks. Once a family member becomes infected, other family members are at risk. So too are the family’s pets. MRSA bacteria can reside in the inside tissue of the nose, the armpits and/or the groin. All that is needed is a simple break in the skin of that individual, or a close contact, for these bacteria to gain entry into the body and start causing tissue damage. If left untreated, the infection can spread rapidly and can even cause death. “The Public Health system has been noticeably silent about the dangers of MRSA” states Dr. W. John Martin, M.D., Ph.D. founding member of the Institute of Progressive Medicine. The Institute is making plans to help address this need by establishing an MRSA training program for the public. To begin with, the Institute will be providing a simple, inexpensive test to determine if one’s home, work and recreational environments are contaminated. The Institute can also arrange for low cost laboratory testing to determine if an individual is a silent carrier of MRSA. As part of its national educational program, the Institute is providing internet and teleconference based courses on bacteriology and in particular on MRSA decontamination. “We need to look beyond current medical recommendations”
More Americans are dying from methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections than were even killed by human terrorists. Of particular concern is a strain of MRSA that produces a tissue damaging toxin. This strain, first identified in Australia in 1991, has been allowed to flourish through medical complacency. Only 10 hospitalized cases of this infection occurred in Australian hospitals in 1995, whereas there were over 35,000 Australian cases last year. Moreover, the infection has now spread worldwide. Only the Netherlands has largely escaped this massive epidemic because it had the will to seek out and destroy MRSA bacteria. Not so in the United States. American hospitals were allowed to become breeding grounds for MRSA. Many patients are becoming infected from simply being admitted to a hospital. Such patients have now brought MRSA into the community setting. The toxic strain of MRSA is so devastating that it can cause disease in an otherwise healthy individual. Any break in the skin barrier can render a normal person susceptible to a severe and sometimes fatal MRSA infection. Athletes engaging in contact sports, children attending day care centers, guests in hotels and other meeting places, are among the many groups now experiencing MRSA outbreaks. Once a family member becomes infected, other family members are at risk. So too are the family’s pets. MRSA bacteria can reside in the inside tissue of the nose, the armpits and/or the groin. All that is needed is a simple break in the skin of that individual, or a close contact, for these bacteria to gain entry into the body and start causing tissue damage. If left untreated, the infection can spread rapidly and can even cause death. “The Public Health system has been noticeably silent about the dangers of MRSA” states Dr. W. John Martin, M.D., Ph.D. founding member of the Institute of Progressive Medicine. The Institute is making plans to help address this need by establishing an MRSA training program for the public. To begin with, the Institute will be providing a simple, inexpensive test to determine if one’s home, work and recreational environments are contaminated. The Institute can also arrange for low cost laboratory testing to determine if an individual is a silent carrier of MRSA. As part of its national educational program, the Institute is providing internet and teleconference based courses on bacteriology and in particular on MRSA decontamination. “We need to look beyond current medical recommendations”
