Staph Infection On The Rise

Wednesday, May 3rd 2006, 11:02 am

By: News On 6

Several medical journals have recently noted a rise in cases of staph infection that is not only resistant to treatment - it's more commonly contracted in everyday life - instead of hospitals.

The death of a football player at TU is being blamed on staph. News on 6 reporter Emory Bryan says 21 year old Devin Adair died two weeks after his first symptoms of illness.

Adair was a new recruit at the University of Tulsa, where he took part in spring football practice. The medical examiner hasn't ruled on the cause of his death, but the health department says it's a suspected case of staph infection.

Adair's father was quoted in his hometown paper as saying, "He started feeling pains in the chest and rib area. At the time he thought it was cracked ribs. It started to travel on him and he figured he was getting the flu."

Staph infection, especially that contracted outside of a hospital setting, is on the rise. It's a bacteria present in many people, that only occasionally leads to serious problems. In most cases, if it's caught early and treated correctly, it's survivable.

Athletes - even young ones - seem to be at higher risk. Experts believe it's because they're injured more often and share sweaty items that may be coated with saliva or mucus - which can harbor the bacteria.

Basketball player Caleb Carney bruised his hip and it turned into an abscess once staph took hold. He had 3 surgeries and spent 37 days in the hospital - but he survived. "I just thought it was a bad hip bruise or maybe a fracture, I didn't think it was anything that bad."

And that's how it often goes undiagnosed until it's become a serious medical issue.