VRSA emerges in Detroit

Link: Mich. doctors fear new germ could spread easily | Freep.com | Detroit Free Press.

Seven of nine confirmed cases of a new and potentially deadly bacteria have emerged in metro Detroit, and experts fear the drug-resistant germ may develop the ability to spread easily. Advertisement "Doctors are more than concerned. We are alarmed," said Dr. Marcus Zervos, head of infectious diseases for the Henry Ford Health System. "We don't want this bacteria to become more communicable. We know that would be a nightmare." The bacteria, which often causes skin boils, is called Vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or VRSA. It's a close cousin of MRSA, or Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. That's the antibiotic-resistant infection that killed a Virginia teenager last spring. The incident prompted scores of schools across the country, including about a half-dozen in the Detroit area, to temporarily close and disinfect. No one has died of the VRSA bacteria, which so far has infected only people with chronic health problems, such as diabetes or kidney failure. Those diseases affect more than 500,000 Michiganders and often come with open sores or catheter wounds where VRSA can breed.