Drug-Resistant Staph Infections

“Staph” infections, short Staphylococcal infections, are the most common type of hospital-acquired infection. Although hospitals are generally kept extremely sanitary, certain strains of the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus have evolved a resistance to many common antibiotics. Drug-resistant staph infections can be treated if they are discovered early enough, but are often fatal once they take hold in a patient’s body.

Staphylococcus Bacteria

The Staphylococcus genus of bacteria contains several species capable of infecting humans, but most of them can be treated with antibiotic drugs. These bacteria commonly colonize the nose, but can also take hold in the lungs and elsewhere in the body. Serious infections can be fatal, but strains that do not resist antibiotics can be treated easily.

The real danger lies with those strains of the bacteria that resist many antibiotic drugs. The body’s immune system is very good at fighting disease, but it can become overwhelmed. Antibiotic drugs kill enough bacteria for the immune system to take control again, but some bacteria may survive. Surviving bacteria continue to reproduce, passing their DNA on. Since bacteria reproduce very quickly, exposing these bacteria to large amounts of antibiotics has caused them to evolve defenses.

Hospitals have created special safety procedures to keep Staph infections from spreading. New patients are typically checked for Staph infections, and those that have them are quarantined and given special medical treatment until they are Staph-free. With these procedures in place, the risk of Staph infections in hospitals has decreased.

Contact Us

If you or someone you love has suffered considerably after contracting a Staph infection in a hospital, you may be a victim of medical malpractice. You may be entitled to compensation for your medical bills and pain and suffering. To learn more, contact an experienced Champaign medical malpractice lawyer by calling Spiros Law, P.C. at (217) 328-2828 today.