SAN FRANCISCO, California, September 13, 2009 (ENS) – Samples of sand and water from five beaches around the Puget Sound have tested positive for a multidrug resistant form of the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus. This potentially fatal strain of staph is resistant to the broad-spectrum antibiotics commonly used to treat it. Dr. Marilyn Roberts, a professor of environmental and health science at the University of Washington in Seattle, Firday reported the first isolation of Methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus, MRSA, from marine and beach sand samples taken from public beaches in Washington state. Speaking at the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy in San Francisco, Dr. Roberts did not identify the individual beaches where the dangerous bacteria was found. She said the MRSA bacteria was found in samples at four urban beaches and one rural beach about 10 miles apart around the Puget Sound. “We found the same strain in three different beaches,” said Roberts. “It’s possible there was a common source. It could have been a hospital, could have been a person or people, but we don’t really know where it came from or how three beaches got same strain,” she told colleagues at the conference. …
Multidrug-Resistant Staph Found on Puget Sound Beaches
