City is now on
guard for MRSA

By Diane Prokop
Times Staff Writer

City Council passed a resolution last week that declared September as MRSA Awareness Month.
The acronym MRSA doesn’t sound nearly as menacing as its full name — Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus.
This bacteria, however, can cause infections that present themselves as boils, pimples, spider bites — even shortness of breath, fever and chills — if the bacteria is inhaled into the lungs or lodges under the skin through a cut.
Councilman-at-large Jack Kelly wants to make sure everyone knows just how big a threat the condition is to city schools and the community at large. In addition to introducing the resolution, which passed unanimously, Kelly urged the School District of Philadelphia to report MRSA on a case-by-case basis, instead of in clusters, as is current protocol.
"This is a dangerous infection and I want Philadelphians to be aware of it, and I want to prevent any unnecessary tragedies as a result of it," Kelly said.
While most people may know it as something seen almost exclusively in hospitals, Community Acquired-(CA)MRSA is becoming more and more prevalent. Dubbed the "super bug" because of its resistance to common antibiotics, it can be fatal if left untreated, as it was for 2000 Father Judge grad Ricky Lannetti.
In 2003, Lannetti, who led Lycoming College’s football team with 955 yards in his senior year, died the night before he was to play in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division III playoffs. No one knew the blind pimple he complained to friends about would wind up killing him.
According to the councilman's spokesman John Cerrone, Kelly is calling for school district officials to incorporate information regarding MRSA into city health class instruction.
Kelly held a press conference last month to outline his plans for the resolution. He was joined by Dr. Rob Bettiker of Temple University Hospitalís Infectious Diseases Department. Temple's Department of Emergency medicine will participate in a nationwide study to find the best treatment for the infection. Theresa Drew, founder of Ricky's MRSA Awareness Foundation, in memory of her son Ricky Lanetti was also on hand, as well as Mayfair Civic Association president Scott Cummings.
The infection ran through the Cummings family this summer. Though the family is healthy now, Vancomycin, once known as the drug of last resort, was used for his wife's persistent infection.
Cummings' neighbor Miriam Lafferty believes that if her son Tommy was given Vancomycin, he'd also be MRSA-free. Without health insurance, the drug is out of reach for her son who has had to endure several painful recurrences of the infection.
To help folks like the Laffertys, Kelly asked his colleagues to reach out to their counterparts in Harrisburg and Washington to ensure that those who do not have the proper health insurance or can not afford to buy the drug Vancomycin can acquire assistance.
According to his spokesman, Kelly added that being administered this drug or not, can be a matter of life and death. ••
Reporter Diane Prokop can be reached at 215-354-3036 or dprokop@phillynews.com