Studies Suggest Just Handling Meat Can Spread MRSA

Posted on July 16, 2009 by MRSA Lawyer

 A couple weeks back, in "Meticillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) --It's What's For Dinner!", we reported on a European study that those working closely with animals were most likely to contract MRSA.

Now, however, Stephanie Woodard, writing for Prevention Magazine on the MSNBC website, is claiming more of us are at risk because enough MRSA has found its way into retail cuts of pork, chicken and beef to make handling of meat dangerous.

Ms. Woodard writes that:

"You may not have the same close contact with meat that a processing plant worker has, but scientists warn there is reason for concern.  Most of us handle meat daily, as we bread chicken cutlets, trim fat from pork, or form chopped beef into burgers.  Cooking does kill the microbe, but MRSA thrives on skin, so you can contract it by touching infected raw meat when you have a cut on you hand, explains Stuart Levy, MD, a Tufts University professor of microbiology and medicine.  MRSA also flourishes in nasal passages, so touching your nose after touching meat gives the bug another way to enter your body, adds University of Iowa Professor Tara Smith."

It was Professor Smith who in 2008 found a new MRSA strain, called ST398, in 45 percent of the farmers and 49 percent of the pigs in two large midwestern hog operations.  The connection between animal and human health raised by the study still did not cause either state or federal government to inspect comprehensively for MRSA

Other studies have found MRSA in retail cuts of pork, chicken and beef sold in the U.S., Europe, and Asia.  For example, according to Prevention, a Louisiana State University study tested 120 cuts of meat purchased at local retail outlets.  MRSA was found in 4 percent of the pork cuts and 1 percent of the beef.

Check out the entire story at MSNBC.

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Manuka Honey Resists MRSA, According To Australian Researchers

Posted on July 13, 2009 by MRSA Attorney

This sounds too good to be true, but you never know.   Might it be possible to successfully combat MRSA with honey?  Well, a special type of honey made by bees down-under.  It seems the bees involve rely on flowers that grow on the Manuka bush.  The Manuka bush grows in both New Zealand and Australia.  So, its the Manuka honey that's the MRSA fighter.

Here's more from the NZ-based site, Stuff:

Australian researchers have identified a type of bacteria-blasting honey capable of taking on the superbugs that have infected the nation's hospitals.

It's well known that honey has anti-bacterial properties but scientists from the University of Sydney say a particular type derived from native tea tree is especially potent.

They believe it could offer a solution to the growing resistance of bacteria, such as the superbug known as MRSA, to conventional antibiotics.

"Most bacteria that cause infections in hospitals are resistant to at least one antibiotic and there is an urgent need for new ways to treat and control surface infections," says Associate Professor Dee Carter, of the university's School of Molecular and Microbial Biosciences.

"But bugs that are resistant to a huge variety of antibiotics are not resistant to honey ... we've never seen an organism that has any kind of intrinsic resistance."

Dr Carter, working alongside Dr Shona Blair, tested honey produced by bees that fed on Leptospermum, commonly known as tea tree.

She said the honey worked against bacteria in a number of ways.

It was a bad growth environment for bacteria because it was mildly acidic with high sugar levels.

It also contained a precursor chemical to hydroperoxide and the molecule methylglyoxal, both toxic to bacterial cells.

And the honey appeared to have properties, not yet understood, which prevented bacteria from developing a resistance despite tests designed to induce such a response.

In particular, staphylococcus bacteria -- such as MRSA or methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus -- were "very sensitive" to the honey and seemed to suffer "multi-system failures," Dr Carter said.

"Our research is the first to clearly show these honey-based products could, in many cases, replace antibiotic creams on wounds and equipment such as catheters," she said.

"Using honey as an intermediate treatment could also prolong the life of antibiotics."

Medicinal applications involving honey, such as impregnated bandages, have been developed but Dr Carter said they were not yet widely used in hospitals.

"People think, 'Honey? That's a bit of a joke'," she said.

"If it had more of a chemical (sounding name) ... it would probably get better acceptance.

"But it's not just a homemade recipe, it's got scientific validation behind it."

The research is published online in the European Journal of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.

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Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs Suffering From MRSA; Straw Vetoes Release From Prison

Posted on July 5, 2009 by MRSA Lawyer

Ronnie Biggs lived most of his life as a free man, and the English government has never been happy about that.

Today, Biggs is “fast deteriorating” with the MRSA superbug in the British hospital near the prison that was suppose to release him last Friday.

However, he remains in custody “riddled with MRSA” after Justice Minister Jack Straw vetoed parole for the 79-year old Biggs.

MRSA victim Ronnie Biggs, you see, was part of the gang that pulled off the Great Train robbery of 1963. In today’s terms, the Great Train robbery was like taking $56 million.

Most of the gang were captured, put on trial, and locked up in prison. But Biggs escaped in just 15 months. He fled to France, Australia, and finally Brazil. Living in Rio de Janeiro, Biggs was outside the extradition power of British authorities.

At 71, Biggs went home on his own because he wanted to “walk into a Margate pub as an Englishman and buy a pint of bitter.” In poor health after three strokes, he knew he would be arrested upon return and he was.

He is now being treated for pneumonia and fractures of the hip, pelvis and spine at a hospital near his prison in Norwich.

'The pneumonia is extremely strong in his body at the moment,' said son Michael Biggs.

He also said his father was 'extremely disappointed' to be denied his freedom by justice secretary Jack Straw. “I would urge Mr Straw to come down to the hospital and see him. He cannot read or write. He cannot eat or drink.”

Straw went against a parole board recommendation to release Biggs as he said he had shown no remorse for his crimes.

Biggs is looking into the possibility of overturning the decision via a judicial review of his father's case.

To be free again, Ronnie Biggs will have to be free of MRSA first.

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