 Taking health problems home from work is not new to Americam society. It is long known that bringing toxics substances home can contaminate your home and subject your family to disease. Today's post is shared from the nytimes.com/ A new study of a small group of workers at industrial hog farms in North Carolina has found that they continued to carry antibiotic-resistant bacteria over several days, raising new questions for public health officials struggling to contain the spread of such pathogens. Although the bacterium, Staphylococcus aureus, is common and does not always cause illness, it can contaminate food and give rise to skin infections and respiratory diseases. Its methicillin-resistant variation, known as MRSA, has wreaked havoc on hospital systems, causing life-threatening complications. The study focused on hog farms because previous research had found the highest incidence of S. aureus among workers in those settings. As of 2012, the most recent year for which data is available, there were an estimated 75,309 serious infections from MRSA and an estimated 9,670 deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Improved hospital procedures have helped reduce the incidence of infection, officials say, but researchers are now concerned about strains of S. aureus resistant to a variety of antibiotics like tetracycline, ampicillin and ciprofloxacin. Among the 22 workers tested in the new study, reported in the Sept. 8 edition of the journal... |
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