Emergence of New Bacteria Strain Affecting Gay Men

A recently published study in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine reports that a new, multi drug-resistant strain of the bacteria Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is being spread rapidly among gay men in San Francisco and Boston.

The new strain is spread easily through anal intercourse as well as casual skin-to-skin contact and contact with contaminated surfaces. Researchers noted that the strain “has the potential for rapid, nationwide dissemination” if microbiology laboratories are not able to identify the strain and doctors did not prescribe the correct antibiotic therapy.

The study was based on outpatient records in San Francisco and Boston and nine medical centers in San Francisco. According to researchers at UCSF, San Francisco has the largest gay population in the country. Gay men in San Francisco were found to be 13 times more likely to be infected than other people in the city. The study also found that 1 in 588 residents is infected with the new strain, correlating to 1 in 3,800 people in San Francisco.

There are measures to effectively stop skin-to-skin transmission of the strain, such as hand washing with soap and water especially after sexual activities, researchers say.

The New York Times reports that MRSA infections can cause unusually severe abscesses and skin ulcers, necrotizing faciitis through invasion of the skin (hence the name “flesh eating bacteria”), pneumonia, heart damage, and can produce widespread infection through the blood. In 2005, nearly 19,000 people died from MRSA infections, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

One of the authors of the study, Dr. Henry F. Chambers, professor of medicine and clinical researcher at UCSF, says the new strain is closely related to earlier ones and is also more difficult to treat because of its resistance to methicillin, clindamycin, tetracycline, mupirocin, and the many other antibiotics used to treat earlier strains.

Project A.W.A.R.E. (Alliance Working for Antibiotic Resistance Education), a pharmacy community service project on campus, has received many questions about MRSA at their outreach events such as health fairs. Anh T. Nguyen, a project coordinator for Project A.W.A.R.E. says that, “It is important that we educate health care providers, patients, and consumers about the appropriate use of antibiotics. Simple things like never sharing or using leftover antibiotics, never using or prescribing antibiotics for the cold or flu, finishing an antibiotic prescription, and even washing your hands (especially in the case for MRSA) can help tremendously in decreasing the spread of antibiotic resistance and disease.”

Source:www.ucsf.edu