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by Carrie Lazarus


The four letter word on everyone’s lips in Central New York and across the country right now is MRSA. It’s not actually a word, it stands for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus.

It’s a staph infection that’s resistant to some antibiotics. The majority of cases occur in healthcare settings, but as we’re learning this week, the infection can spread in communities, especially schools. Cases have been reported in the Syracuse, Liverpool, Oswego, Marcellus and East Syracuse school districts.

Should we be alarmed? I asked that question of Dr. Shelly Gilroy, an infectious disease specialist at Crouse hospital. Her answer; no, we don’t need to be alarmed, but we should be aware of MRSA.

MRSA is spread by skin to skin contact or by touching an object touched by someone with MRSA. The skin infection looks like a pimple or boil, but it tends to be more red and swollen with pus or discharge and gets worse over time. Anything like this should be checked out by a doctor. MRSA can be treated with some antibiotics, but it is resistant to some of the most common medicines such as penicillin.

The best protection against MRSA is hand washing. At home, soap and water will do the job. Away from home, use antibacterial hand washes with at least 60% ethyl alcohol. Because the MRSA bacteria can live on objects for up to 3 days, sports equipment, uniforms and towels should be washed after each use and personal objects such as razors should not be shared.

The Journal of the American Medical Association reported this week that MRSA is far more common than anyone thought; affecting more than 94,000 Americans. It can be extremely dangerous for people with weakened immune systems. That's why hospitals here in Central New York and across the country have been working hard to control the spread of MRSA. Crouse hospital has an entire floor where all MRSA patients are treated. I was up there on 7 Memorial earlier this week and the doctors tell me it's helped to contain the staph infection.

For most people though, MRSA is not life threatening, but it is definitely on the increase. That's why it's important for all of us to learn about how to protect ourselves and others. The more this spreads, the greater the chance that we’ll run out of antibiotics that can treat it. Stay tuned.

[rmpal]

VENICE, Fla., Aug. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- SinoFresh HealthCare, Inc., (OTC Bulletin Board: SFSH - News) announced preliminary results today from a successful in vivo pilot study indicating that its patented SinoFresh® nasal spray was shown to be useful in controlling the MRSA "super-bug" in the nasal passages. This study utilized a recognized scientific model intended to demonstrate SinoFresh® nasal spray's ability to kill MRSA hiding in the nasal passages. These favorable efficacy results follow an earlier, successful in vitro study that was conducted at the Public Health Research Institute under the direction of Dr. Barry Kreiswirth, director of the Tuberculosis Center and Hospital Infections Program.

The study showed that "SinoFresh® nasal spray used three times daily appeared to effectively eliminate MRSA in the noses of the test animals while leaving enough normal microbes to keep a normal population in the nasal passages," according to Dr. John Todhunter, consultant to SinoFresh, who oversaw the study conducted at Virion Systems in Rockville, MD.

MRSA (which stands for Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus) is a growing concern in the health care community. It incubates in the nasal passages and then gets on the skin where it can cause severe, virulent infections. The effect of MRSA can lead to disfigurement and sometimes death. MRSA is also highly antibiotic resistant, making MRSA infections difficult to treat. It is believed that approximately 2 - 3 million persons in the U.S. walk around carrying MRSA in their nasal passages at any time and elimination or severe reduction of nasal MRSA colonies is seen as a potentially important weapon in fighting the spread of MSRA. The antibiotic Mupirocin is currently used to reduce nasal MRSA loads.

SinoFresh® nasal spray attacks MRSA in the nasal passages by destroying the "super-bug's" cell walls and membranes by physical means rather than by an antibiotic mechanism involving attack on the metabolism of the microbes as occurs with the use of antibiotics. "Since bacteria can in effect change their metabolism to be resistant to antibiotics, but can't very well change the laws of physics the chances for development of resistance to SinoFresh® Nasal Spray's mode of killing them is much lower said Dr. Todhunter."

According to William Wilferth, VP for Research and Development at SinoFresh, "These results have exceeded our expectations. The positive results of this in vivo study gives us the solid scientific platform we have needed in order to advance our efforts to fight MRSA to the next level."

www.sinofresh.com