The Deadly Intersection of the Flu and MRSA

Link: The Deadly Intersection of the Flu and MRSA

ABC News and the Boston Globe have run reports highlighting the potential threat of co-infection of influenza and MRSA. Influenza kills at least 35,000 people in the US every year. This year’s influenza vaccine was less effective against the strains common this year. Each year the selection of vaccine type is a guessing game and mortality from flu will likely be higher this year. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a superbug that is resistant to common antibiotics because it is the product of the over use of common antibiotics. While MRSA can be successfully treated, for now, the likelihood of higher mortality rates when flu and MSRA are experienced concurrently is a near certainty. The co-infection of viral and bacterial infections points to a serious problem that may grow difficult to control. The rise of not only MSRA but also more and more antibiotic resistant strains of common and once deadly infections coupled with a potent viral illness such as bird flu, SARS or drug resistant TB could result in a health catastrophe. Is this a perfect storm? All signs point to that direction. Drug resistant strains of infections continue to evolve, more diseases are jumping from animals to humans, the development of new antibiotics and anti-virals are difficullt and offers poor returns to developers, and the community is slowly losing its herd immunity due to misinformation about vaccination.