Five patients with MRSA treated at Portsmouth naval hospital

Portsmouth Naval Medical Center has recently treated serious bacterial infections in five patients transferred to the facility from the Hampton VA Medical Center starting in August.

Deborah Kallgren, spokeswoman for Portsmouth Naval Medical Center, said all five cases involved methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, which is a staph infection that's resistant to some antibiotics.

Two of the cases progressed into necrotizing fasciitis, a rapidly progressive disease that destroys muscles, fat and tissue.

One patient had to have an arm amputated and is still in the hospital.

The other person had a milder case of necrotizing fasciitis and was discharged. The other three patients also were treated and discharged.

Four of the patients required multiple surgeries to stem the infection while one patient responded well to antibiotics.

The Hampton VA transferred the patients, who were experiencing joint infections, to the Portsmouth Naval Medical Center because the two hospitals have a "sharing agreement" in which the Portsmouth hospital can take cases that become critical, according to Kallgren.

She said treating five patients with the infection at once was unusual for the hospital.

The incidence of MRSA, however, has been going up across the country. MRSA has been fairly common in hospitals and health care settings for decades, but otherwise healthy people also have begun contracting the bacterial strains in community settings.

The bacteria spreads through skin-to-skin contact, wound and nasal discharge. Some people who carry the bacteria experience no illness while others might experience strep throat or other mild illnesses.

In some cases, the bacteria gets past the skin through a sore or open cut and spreads to the underlying tissue and to other organs. People whose immune systems are compromised because of disease or injury are at higher risk.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta estimated there were 94,360 invasive MRSA infections in 2005, with 18,650 cases resulting in death.

A Hampton VA spokesperson did not return a call seeking comment.

Elizabeth Simpson, (757) 446-2635, elizabeth.simpson@pilotonline.com