Brooklyn, NY – A seventh-grade boy from I.S. 211 appears to have died from MRSA, according to the Health Department.
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The New York City Health Department says the methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection, or MRSA, is the likely cause of the death.
The department says there's "no reason to believe that other children or school employees are at increased risk of Staph infection." The agency says fatal cases of MRSA among children are rare.
At least six students on Long Island have recently been diagnosed with MRSA.
The city Health Department has proposed mandatory reporting of the illness so it can track the number of cases. [wnbc]
“they also would not allow a young
child to suffer with a sinus infection or what appears to be a virus, but may be a sinus infection for TWO WEEKS”
If the antibiotic will help, by all means take it. However, if the infection is viral, the antibiotic will do nothing but increase drug resistance in bacteria and is actually harmful in the long run.
There is a reason why our doctors have so many years of training–so they can make educated, objective decisions about how to treat each problem, not based on an emotional response to our children not feeling well.
“This is why people should not demand antibiotics for viral illnesses like colds, flus, sinus infections lasting less than 2 weeks, bronchitis, sore throats that are not proven to be strep,”
Please understand, Doctor, that there is always a middle road. Good physicians know how to balance prescribing antibiotics. The physicians I choose to treat my children would never prescribe antibiotics for a sore throat that wasn’t strep, but they also would not allow a young child to suffer with a sinus infection or what appears to be a virus, but may be a sinus infection for TWO WEEKS. I am tired of the agendas at the expense of the suffering of the children. I am aware of the problem of overprescribing. I am also well aware of the problem of agendizing, insensitive physicians. Mothers, the really good pediatricians feel out the situation, wait, test, and then address it. They do not ignore your child’s weeks of discomfort and pain!
MRSA can cause anything from impetigo to pneumonia to blood and brain infections. Many people have it simply living on their skin causing no problems.
MRSA is a byproduct of the overuse of antibiotics–bacteria are smart and learn how to become immune to antibiotics. This is why people should not demand antibiotics for viral illnesses like colds, flus, sinus infections lasting less than 2 weeks, bronchitis, sore throats that are not proven to be strep, etc. Many doctors feel pressured to give antibiotics bec. they don’t have time to argue with everyone who comes in over and over about why not to give antibiotics.
Unless people use some seichel we will have more and more of these highly resistant bugs which we cannot treat and are back to the days before antibiotics where all you can do is sit back and watch the patient die.
BTW–I’m a doctor in the community and have had many patients leave my practice bec. I refuse to write unnecessary antibiotics for this very reason. Other doctos have told me that they give in bec. they don’t have time to fight with every patient.
Does anyone know what the symptoms of this infection are?