Infectious hospital bacterial waste runoff is polluting USA beaches - MRSA bacteria on those digging or covered in sand

At most public beaches in the USA, don't cover people in sand or let your family dig in the sand. They'll probably come out covered with MRSA bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus that's resistant to treatment, and possibly coming from hospital waste bacteria washed up on the shore.

Samples from five beaches around Puget Sound tested positive for a multidrug resistant form of Staphylococcus aureus. These beaches join a growing list of beaches around the country that have been found to contain this infection, according to a researcher who spoke on the findings yesterday at the American Society for Microbiology's Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy in San Francisco.

For further information, check out the article, "MRSA reported at public beaches in Washington," Infectious Diseases News.

The bacteria may be coming from hospital waste. Researchers identified Staphylococcus aureus on nine public beaches, and seven of the 13 samples were multidrug resistant, demonstrating resistance to vancomycin as well as other medications. Most of the samples resembled hospital-acquired MRSA. The researchers found three samples 10 miles apart that were almost identical, suggesting that they may have come from the same source.

Because the water temperature is cold, the bacteria is coming from environmental waste, not from humans. MRSA bacterial thrive in cold water. It's not clear where the bacteria is coming from, but it looks like hospital waste MRSA bacteria from environmental sources.

In other areas, such as Miami, FL, people who dig in the sand quickly get colonized with bacteria. On one study noted in the article, "those who had dug in the sand or had been buried in sand were more likely to be colonized with MRSA."

For further information, check out the article, "MRSA reported at public beaches in Washington," Infectious Diseases News. Also, when MRSA bacteria infections in people are combined with the flu (H1N1), it can be a deadly duo. See the article: "Influenza A H1N1, CA-MRSA co-infection fatal in two pediatric patients."

You can read what happens when children come down with the A H1N1flu and also have and community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection. Just think of how many kids play in the sand or people of any age cover themselves with sand, perhaps as a protection against the sun or heat.

The article reveals how the presence of both pathogens may, in the few cases studied, lead to rapid disease progression and death. One child had MRSA and the swine flu. The other child had MRSA, and the swine flu could not be verified at autopsy in the second child. Both children died of bacterial pneumonia.

On another note, also see: Peramivir safe and effective for treating uncomplicated influenza. The point is, MRSA has been found in public beach sand. And people can catch the novel flu as well as fall victim to MRSA at the same time.

For further information, see: Roberts M. #C2-146. Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy; San Francisco: Sept. 11-15, 2009.

More than 10,000 physicians, researchers and other healthcare professionals from around the globe gather each year at the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) to foster worldwide solutions to the problem of infectious diseases. To enrich the attendee experience, the ICAAC Program Committee selects a faculty that includes internationally renowned scientists and complements the invited program with slide and poster abstract presentations. The 49th ICAAC concludes on Sept. 15th. It's a successful educational event and an opportunity to exchange the latest information with scientists from around the world. If you write about health or science, it's a learning experience to attend.

Photo credits: All Voices.

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