UK Warning Over MRSA in Community

Link: Schools and gyms on high alert over deadly flesh-eating bugs| News | This is London.

Schools and gyms will be warned for the first time over deadly flesh-eating bugs which initially have flu-like symptoms. Detailed official guidelines will spell out the threat posed by community-acquired MRSA and its sister bug MSSA. The official guidance, issued by the Department of Health and the Health Protection Agency, will apply to strains of the bacteria which produce a poison called Panton-Valentine leukocidin, or PVL. MRSA is a form of the common Staphylococcus bacteria which cannot be treated with the frontline antibiotic methicillin. MSSA is so called because it is sensitive to the drug, making it easier to treat.