Possibilities
Retired
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/s...bined-with-superbug-could-kill-thousands.html
By Alastair Jamieson
Last Updated: 9:46AM BST 20 May 2009
The drug-resistant infection triggers a form of pneumonia in those weakened by viruses such as swine flu and kills half its victims in under 72 hours.
A report in health journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases said the infection could raise the death risk among potential swine flu victims. It can live in the nose or throat and pose no danger ? but if the carrier is weakened by a virus like flu it can cause the lung condition.
Epidemics expert Professor Mark Enright, of London's Imperial College, told The Sun: "CA-MRSA pneumonia is particularly dangerous due to the aggressive nature of the infection and the difficulty in treatment."
Dr Alicia Hidron of Emory University in Atlanta, said that, unlike many other forms of the superbug, CA-MRSA hits the young rather than the old and frail. In one case, a previously healthy 45-year-old woman spread it to her 36-year-old male partner.
Infections expert Professor Richard James, of the University of Nottingham, told the newspaper: "The threat from CA-MRSA in the US is a very serious concern, especially if there is an epidemic. It could trigger a large number of cases of necrotizing pneumonia, which has a mortality rate of 50 per cent in 72 hours."
In all, more than 100 swine flu cases have so far been diagnosed in the UK. At least 70 have died worldwide.
By Alastair Jamieson
Last Updated: 9:46AM BST 20 May 2009
The drug-resistant infection triggers a form of pneumonia in those weakened by viruses such as swine flu and kills half its victims in under 72 hours.
A report in health journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases said the infection could raise the death risk among potential swine flu victims. It can live in the nose or throat and pose no danger ? but if the carrier is weakened by a virus like flu it can cause the lung condition.
Epidemics expert Professor Mark Enright, of London's Imperial College, told The Sun: "CA-MRSA pneumonia is particularly dangerous due to the aggressive nature of the infection and the difficulty in treatment."
Dr Alicia Hidron of Emory University in Atlanta, said that, unlike many other forms of the superbug, CA-MRSA hits the young rather than the old and frail. In one case, a previously healthy 45-year-old woman spread it to her 36-year-old male partner.
Infections expert Professor Richard James, of the University of Nottingham, told the newspaper: "The threat from CA-MRSA in the US is a very serious concern, especially if there is an epidemic. It could trigger a large number of cases of necrotizing pneumonia, which has a mortality rate of 50 per cent in 72 hours."
In all, more than 100 swine flu cases have so far been diagnosed in the UK. At least 70 have died worldwide.