Beaches Fun Or Dangerous?
Posted on 19 October 2009 by Stenberg-Tendys W.L. in Health
The very dangerous golden staph bacteria has been found in sand and water for the first time, at five public beaches along the coast of Washington.
The germ MRSA, is methicillin-resistant Straphylococcus aureus. This hard-to-treat bug is rarely seen outside hospitals. However, the fear is that it has spread to settings such as schools, locker rooms and gyms.
The germ can cause nasty skin infections, as well as pneumonia and other life-threatening problems. It is spread mainly through human contact.
“We don’t know the risk for any individual going to a beach,” said Marilyn Roberts, a microbiologist at the University of Washington in Seattle “The fact that we found these organisms suggests that the level is much higher than we had thought.”
In a new study, researchers tested 10 beaches in Washington along the West Coast and in Puget Sound from February to September, 2008. They found staph bacteria at nine of the beaches, including five with MRSA.
The scientists encourage people not to avoid beaches, or be afraid of them. “It’s probably prudent to shower when you come out, to lower the risk of bacteria staying on the skin,” said Dr. Lance Peterson, a microbiologist at North Shore University Health System in Illinois.
“Make sure you get all the sand off and cover any open cuts or scrapes before playing in it,” Roberts added. “Digging in the sand, or being buried in it seems to raise the risk of infection.”
Golden staph kills one in five patients. Screening all patients who book into hospital for an operation, for MRSA, has became mandatory in England in April this year, in order to bring incidents of the superbug down.
However, Michael Millar, consultant microbiologist at Barts and the London NHS Trust said, “The tests can be unreliable, meaning some patients will wrongly test positive for the bug when they do not have it and will be given unnecessary treatment to clear it, causing delays to their surgery.”
There were 509 cases of MRSA in England, a 40 per cent drop on the same quarter last year and a 27 per cent drop on the previous quarter this year.
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