Mrsa

Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) is an antibiotic-resistant infectious disease first seen in the UK in 1961.[1]. The disease declined over the next decade but re-emerged in hospitals in Eastern Australia in the late 1970s. [2]. A global epidemic [3] that is now considered both epidemic and endemic in US hospitals [4], the disease is most commonly acquired by those in healthcare facilities, as the bacteria can easily enter the body through a wound, catheter, or intravenous tube [5]. Patients in health care facilities typically have weakened immune systems due to being in an antibiotic-rich environment, and the bacteria especially thrive in such environments. The disease is also seen among dialysis patients, athletes, military recruits, children, children in day care, Pacific Islanders, Alaskan Natives, Native Americans, gay men, prisoners and foal-watchers, and even their baby horses, among others.[6][7][8][9] In a July 2007 study of 1,237 US hospitals, the infection rate was 46.3 patients in every 1,000. This rate is 8-11 times greater than previously estimated.[10] The CDC reports an infection rate for the general US population of 0.32 in 1000.

Gay Plague[edit]

For a more detailed treatment, see gay plague.

The New Gay Plague is a term used by those who observed that a particularly virulent strain of the disease (different strain of the disease as described above) was spreading through San Francisco's large homosexual community in early 2008.^[1] The rate of MRSA infection in this community (1.7 in 1000)[11] is six times that of the general population and they are much more likely to contract this strain of MRSA [12]. The study estimated that 1 in 588 residents living within the Castro neighborhood 94114 ZIP code area is infected with that variant, which is resistant to six types of commonly used antibiotics. The risk of contracting this difficult-to-treat bug is 13 times greater for gay men than for the rest of the city's population, researchers found.[13]

MRSA and evolution[edit]

Constantly mutating, drug-resistant pathogens such as MRSA have been shown to be the result of devolution rather than evolution.^[2] This is the exact opposite of what evolutionary theory predicts. Thus, the existence of superbugs such as MRSA strongly contradicts evolutionary theory.

References[edit]

See also[edit]

• Multidrug resistance (MDR)

External links[edit]

• Homosexuals Squelch Facts About MRSA Outbreak, Conservatives Say - Pete Winn, CNSNews.com Senior Staff Writer - January 28, 2008