Staph Cases an 'Emerging Epidemic'

Link: Staph Cases an 'Emerging Epidemic'.

Authorities have not tracked the spread of the disease because doctors are not required to report cases. But recent studies suggest a rapid increase in the last year or two in infections treated at emergency rooms. At Olive View, Talan and his colleague Dr. Gregory Moran tracked infections last August. Two years ago, doctors treated just one or two cases in a typical month. But Talan and Moran tallied 28 cases in August — almost one a day. Those cases accounted for about half of all tested skin infections treated at the hospital. At the same time, Talan and Moran tallied skin infections at 10 other hospitals in cities including New York, Philadelphia and Atlanta, with similar results. About 60% of tested skin infections were caused by the new strain of staph. "We were totally flabbergasted," Talan said. "This is such a dramatic change, it's like a sea change." Outbreaks of the new strain have been reported in areas from Hawaii to Connecticut, prompting federal health officials to advise doctors to take swabs from patients to test for the bacterium. "We're hearing enough anecdotes for it to be safe to say that these skin infections are widespread in the community," said Nicole Coffin, a spokeswoman with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.