They Say: Kids’ Infections Increasingly Drug-Resistant

Apparently the alarming reports about MRSA (that’s Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections, for those of you without a medical degree) have not, in fact, been the pediatric version of worries about killer bees; the risk for such infections among kids suffering from head and neck ailments (like ear infections, colds, etc.) has risen nearly threefold since 2001, according to a new study out of Emory University.

The study looked at 21,009 staph infections among kids from 2001 to 2006, from data collected by labs at 300 hospitals nationwide. While just 11.8% of head and neck staph infections were drug-resistant in 2001, by 2006 that number had climbed to 28.1%. And while it’s been known for a few years that drug-resistant staph is a common problem among hospitalized patients, 60% of the children in the Emory study were not hospitalized, and therefore had picked up their MRSA out in the world.

What’s scary about this is not just that MRSA can be a very difficult infection to treat, but that the data imply a growing problem of bacteria arming themselves, through genetic mutation, to defeat the best medications doctors now have to throw at them. In the fight between nature and science, nature — at least in this particular battle — looks like it’s winning. And this isn’t the nice, fuzzy nature of Ranger Rick magazine; it’s the kind of nature it’s not nice to fool with, as the old saying goes. MRSA infections can invade your bloodstream and land you in the hospital.

Experts advise parents not to panic, but to keep track of (and keep clean) kids’ cuts and scrapes, the common pathways through which staph and other infections can enter the body. Get familiar with the signs and symptoms of a MRSA infection. And if a child’s infection of any kind seems to be lingering too long, don’t hesitate to return to the doctor’s office.