Sep 22, 2005 10:58 am US/Central
Study: 'Superbug' Germ Kills 3 Children In Chicago
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
Reports of a deadly drug-resistant infection has Chicago doctors sounding an alarm.
It's believed to be responsible for the deaths of three Chicago children. It's a so-called "superbug," because it is drug-resistant.
It's called methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA. It's usually found in hospitals, but all three children who died caught it outside in the community.
The deaths, reported in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine, involved three toddlers who died between 2000 and 2004. The children died within a week of being hospitalized with breathing problems but died when the staph germ caused a toxic shock syndrome-like illness.
Autopsies showed they suffered from shock and bleeding in the adrenal gland. The infections were caused by MRSA, which is usually not associated with the syndrome.
"There's a new kid on the block," said Dr. John Bartlett of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, referring to the added strength of the superbug.
"The fact that there are three community-acquired staph aureus cases is really scary," continued Bartlett, an infectious disease specialist.
Doctors believe the children inhaled the germ.
Dr. Robert Daum at the University of Chicago co-authored the study and says it's not known how the staph germ got into the community.
But infectious disease specialists say a growing number of otherwise healthy people have acquired these infections outside of hospitals.
In Corpus Christi, Texas, for example, doctors have seen the staph illnesses jump from 10 cases a year in the 1990's to 400 in 2003.
In 1999, drug-resistant staph infections killed four healthy children ranging in age from 1 to 13 years old in Minnesota and North Dakota. Since then, doctors have actively looked for such infections in their community.
The study authors are calling on all doctors to be on the lookout for shock-like cases caused by MRSA.
(© 2005 CBS Worldwide Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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