Over Staphed

This is interesting, in a "I'm sure the leg will re-attach all by itself so I don't need to go into that bulding" kinda way.

"A nasty staph germ circulating in and out of hospitals produces a poison that can kill pneumonia patients within 72 hours, researchers said on Thursday."

I tend to avoid hospitals anyway - too much potential for a zombie outbreak. This doesn't do much to calm my concerns.

"Staphylococcus aureus bacteria -- or S. aureus -- can pass one another the gene for the toxin and are apparently swapping it more often, the researchers report in Friday's issue of the journal Science.
The toxin, called Panton Valentine leukocidin [sic] or PVL, can itself cause pneumonia and can kill healthy tissue.
Luckily, people infected with the bacteria quickly develop a high fever and astute doctors can identify it, said Gabriela Bowden of the Texas A&M Health Science Center in Houston, who led the study." (links added)

Read the article for all the details. But it does give some advice on how to minimize its spread:

"WASH THOSE HANDS
Old-fashioned hygiene is the best line of defense, Bowden said.
'I tell my kids if you scrape your knee, go to the bathroom immediately and wash it with soap.' Hospitals must impose strict hygiene to control it."

& luckily it doesn't require a high-tech $10 per ounce bottle of stuff to do an effective job of it:

"Washing hands with plain soap and water is as effective as using the expanding range of sanitizers or antibacterial soaps if done correctly and often, according to a new U.S. report."

Check out the links for the full scoop as I am but a mere & humble gun blogger.

Posted by Publicola at January 19, 2007 08:14 AM | TrackBack