Study: Infections Are From Patients

A study shows for the first time that hospital patients often catch life-threatening staph infections from germs they harbor in their own noses. <br><br>Staph infections are a serious threat to patients

Friday, January 5th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

A study shows for the first time that hospital patients often catch life-threatening staph infections from germs they harbor in their own noses.

Staph infections are a serious threat to patients in hospitals and nursing homes who are already sick and whose immune systems are weak. Such infections can spread quickly and can be deadly if they enter the bloodstream.

Until now, these infections have been blamed largely on germs that spread from person to person, often on people's hands. Experts caution that this is still a common means of transmission.

In the latest study, researchers in Germany looked at two groups of patients with staph blood poisoning. In more than 80 percent of the patients, they found the same strain of staphylococcus aureus in the blood and the nasal passages of the patients. The nasal tract is a common site for the ordinarily harmless staph bacteria.

That showed that the patients had infected themselves with their own germs, according to Dr. Christof von Eiff, one of the researchers at the University of Muenster in Germany. It was not clear whether they picked up the bacteria in the hospital or brought them with them, he said.

The study, sponsored by drug maker SmithKline Beecham, was published in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.

``It's one step ... but an important step, I think, in the fight against staph,'' von Eiff said.

Von Eiff said the next step is to develop ways to eliminate the staph germ in the nose, before it develops into an infection. Antibiotic nasal ointments are available, but experts worry that bacteria will grow resistant to the medicines, he said. Von Eiff said a vaccine would be best but is not yet available.

The study looked at single, isolated cases, not outbreaks. First, researchers tested 219 patients treated for staph blood poisoning at 32 German hospitals. Of those patients, 180 â€” or 82 percent â€” had the same staph strain in their blood and noses.

They also screened 1,278 patients at one hospital over a five-year period for staph bacteria in their nasal passages and waited to see who developed infections. Fourteen patients developed bloodstream infections and 12 of the 14 â€” or 86 percent â€” had the same staph strain in their blood and nasal passages.

Dr. Gordon L. Archer of Virginia Commonwealth University said the study supports refocusing efforts to fight staph infections by targeting the source.

``Maybe we should put more emphasis on trying to get rid of the bacteria in the nose rather than trying to prevent spread from patient to patient,'' he said.

â€”â€”â€”

On the Net:

New England Journal of Medicine: http://www.nejm.org