The antibiotic-resistant strain of Staphylococcus that was reported earlier this year in the RT as a problem on the U.S. west coast has now appeared in Boston. The infection, known as MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) is normally caught only in hospitals by those already seriously ill, but its appearance in the general community is alarming authorities. Although the five Boston men who were diagnosed with the infection were also HIV-positive, the doctors could not say with certainty that the two related. In any case, Dr. Scott Fridkin, a medical epidemiologist at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, "It's of great concern. The reports are becoming more frequent, and it appears to be a growing problem''. And yet man's reliance on treatments for the effects instead of the causes will continue and increase - right along with some bacteria's ability to resist these treatments. Dr. Stephen L. Boswell, executive director of Fenway Community Health Center said, ''The whole issue of antibiotic resistance is a huge problem for all of us, and it's a problem that really needs to be addressed because it has huge public [editor's comment: i.e. national] health implications.''

Source: The Boston Globe