VIRGINIA BRIEFING - washingtonpost.com.
In the first year Virginia began tracking drug-resistant staph infections, 1,380 cases were reported and at least 35 people died. Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) ordered medical labs across the state to report serious cases of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, to the state Health Department last year after a 17-year-old Bedford County boy died. Millions of people routinely carry staph bacteria on their skin or in their nasal passages. Many infections are relatively mild, and the body successfully fights the germ. But this virulent strain of the microbe can turn minor cuts and sores into life-threatening conditions. ad_icon Only about 30 percent of the cases reported between Dec. 1, 2007, and the end of this November listed a known outcome, so the number of deaths could be higher.
