3 isle Marines get
treatment for lesions
linked to staph
Three Kaneohe Marines and two family members were treated by Navy medical specialists for suspicious lesions on their bodies that were caused by a bacterial infection related to staph.
Infection prevention
To prevent staph and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections, the Centers for Disease Control recommends:>> Keeping hands clean by washing thoroughly with soap and water.
>> Keeping cuts and abrasions clean and covered with proper dressing, such as a bandage, until healed.
>> Avoiding contact with other people's wounds or material contaminated from wounds. These objects can be anything an infected person has touched, such as towels, clothes, sheets and bandages.
Both the Navy and state health officials say this staph infection, known as Staphylococcus aureus, does not constitute a health hazard to the community.
The Navy said none of the Marines were deployed to Iraq or Southwest Asia where pneumonia has sickened more than 100 soldiers and killed two. Lt. Cmdr. Jane Campbell, Navy spokeswoman, said officials here also do not believe the infections could have been caused by anthrax inoculations.
Dr. Paul Effler, state epidemiologist, said methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus is "exceedingly common" and that there have not been any incidents over the past three weeks to suggest anything out of the ordinary.
Campbell said the Marine Corps reported the five cases in its Kaneohe Bay base newspaper last week only "to reinforce good hygiene habits, and to make personnel aware of the signs of the infection and appropriate treatment methods."
The Centers for Disease Control said in a fact sheet that staph is the bacteria that lives in the skins and noses of healthy people. Infections caused by staph are usually minor such as pimples and boils. Some infections, however, could cause pneumonia. In the past these infections were treated by antibiotics such as penicillin.
"Over the past 50 years, treatment of these infections have become more difficult because staph bacteria have become resistant to various antibiotics, including the commonly used penicillin-related antibiotics," the CDC said. Campbell said no isle Marines have been treated for pneumonia.
On Aug. 5, the New York Times reported from March 1 through July 30, about 100 cases of pneumonia were reported among all U.S. troops deployed in Southwest Asia, and doctors have not been able to determine the cause of the disease in most of them.
The Army has sent epidemiological teams to the Southwest Asia region and to Germany to investigate the possible causes or contributing factors to the illnesses, including whether the anthrax or smallpox vaccines played a role.
Campbell said the first staph cases were reported to the Preventive Medicine Clinic at Kaneohe Bay about July 4.
"There has been no association between these cases and any recent military deployment," she said, adding that none of the Marines had been deployed recently.
Campbell said Navy doctors say that "antibiotic resistance among various strains of bacteria has been known for decades. The resistance means that doctors have to change the way they normally treat infections, which they have done. There is no increased threat to the community. These strains already make up nearly one third of the staph cases in Hawaii."
The CDC said methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections usually develops in hospitalized patients who are elderly or very sick or who have open wounds, such as bed sores, or a tube going into their body, such as a urinary catheter or intravenous catheter. Cases have been associated sharing contaminated items, having an active skin disease and living in crowded settings.
