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by Mary Ann Childers
CHICAGO (CBS) ― For 65 years, we have trusted antibiotics to kill germs, but today overuse and incorrect use have caused our wonder drugs to fail against new drug-resistant germs.

Some believe Chicago is ground zero for a new infection epidemic. As CBS 2 Medical Editor Mary Ann Childers reports, the days may be gone when you get a cut or a scratch and do not take any action.

Today, Jewaun Smith is an energetic 9-year-old. But last fall, he was fighting an infection that almost killed him.

"At one point, he had a CT scan of his chest with more than 500 holes in his lung," said University of Chicago Hospitals Pediatric Disease Specialist Dr. Robert Daum. "No one really thought he was going to make it through."

The ordeal began with a scratch on Jewaun's leg. A bacterium called methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA for short, entered his blood. Jewaun was in a coma for 2-1/2 months and hospitalized for five, but he survived.

Seventeen-month-old Simon Sparrow was not so lucky.

"Despite everything we were doing, this child was dying in front of our eyes," said University of Chicago Hospitals Pediatric Critical Care Dr. Tracy Koogler.

Simon's infection raged out of control in less than 24 hours.

"These doctors are telling you your child had just died and he was just fine the night before," said Simon's mother, Everly Macario.

For years, MRSA was found only in hospitals. But now, new, more deadly strains first reported in the Midwest are surfacing in cities nationwide.

A leading expert calls it a full-fledged epidemic, because of this highly contagious staphylococcus germ that is spread by touch and is constantly evolving.

"Every antibiotic that's been brought onto the market, staph has figured out how to get around," Daum said.

Daum says staph lives harmlessly on the skin or in the noses of 30 percent of the population. It the most common cause of skin infections and boils. But if staph enters the body, it can cause virulent pneumonia and overwhelming sepsis.

Of the 14 severe cases Daum has treated, seven have died.

"So what are we going to do? We're working on making a vaccine," Daum said. "I don't want to see a case like this ever again. I want to prevent it."

But as for the progress so far, Daum said it is at "square one, because we're up against a smart germ."

That is why Jewaun's recovery is so remarkable. He has had to re-learn many basic skills.

"I can talk, I can run, I can jump, and I can walk," Jewaun said.

His goal now is to stay healthy. In order to fight staph, Daum said it is important to wash hands frequently, not to share towels, and to clean wounds carefully. Sports equipment must routinely be disinfected, and if a cut starts to get red and infected, see a doctor immediately.

"Even the littlest things, the little scrapes, a little incident that a child has, you can't take it minor, you have to treat it as though it's major," said Jewaun's mother, Kansonia Love.

No one really knows how many MRSA infections are occurring outside hospitals, because they do not have to be reported. Daum believes they are in the tens of thousands, and he says between 10 and 15 percent may be severe.

Daum is particularly concerned about seasonal flu. He believes that half of all flu deaths may actually be caused by staph infections that come on top of the flu.

A bill that would require the screening of hospital patients and reporting of cases has been introduced in the Illinois General Assembly.

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