MRSA Linked to Illegal Tattoos
Posted on June 23, 2006
MSNBC.com reports that MRSA infections have been found to have a connection with illegal tattoos parlors. The MSNBC article says the CDC has reported that 44 people with MRSA infections were found to have received tattoos from unlicensed tattoo artists.
These are the first documented cases if tattoo-related MRSA infections, said Dr. Mysheika LeMaile-Williams, a CDC infectious disease investigator who co-authored the report.The necrotizing fasciitis are the most frightening and can kill quickly as you can see in our last entry on MRSA. Using unlicensed tattoo artists was considered unsafe even before the MRSA connection. More about tattoo safety can be found here.MRSA is an antibiotic-resistant bacteria that fights off the body's immune system and destroys tissues. The community-associated variety, seen in the tattoo infections, has been diagnosed in otherwise healthy athletes, military recruits and prison inmates.
The skin infections can be transmitted from person to person by contact with draining sores, or through contact with contaminated items or surfaces. MRSA generally causes mild skin infections, but in some cases has led to pneumonia, bloodstream infections, and a painful, flesh-destroying condition called necrotizing fasciitis.
Clusters of MRSA cases were seen in Ohio in June 2004, November 2004 and April 2005, involving 33 people. A four-person cluster was reported in Kentucky in May 2005 and a seven-person cluster was in Vermont in August.