Bacteria is everywhere in our society, from dorm rooms to grocery stores. Normally, bacteria are nothing to worry about and are even healthy. But rapidly evolving microorganisms that are resistant to antibiotics, such as the Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a super strand of staph infection, are eliminating our best defense against them.
This bacteria has been a problem nationwide and locally. Both Medaille College, just around the corner from UB, and Erie County's Department of Health released letters detailing MRSA. If left untreated, the minor infection can cause more serious ones, such as bloodstream infections and pneumonia.
Concerned students in Connecticut have established a hotline to ease the concern of students and parents. The hotline was swamped with over 200 hundred calls during its first day, according to Newsday.com. Most callers wanted to know the symptoms of staph.
Staph is a type of bacteria: it appears on the skin as red boils, similar in appearance to a spider bite. The boil can progress into a puss-filled blister. Any student is susceptible to a staph infection. Part of the college experience is skin-to-skin contact and crowded dorm conditions. That closeness can end in the contraction of a staph infection (or worse).
Poor hygiene and coming into contact with surfaces exposed to staph are common ways students are exposed to the illness. Staph lurks in dark, damp areas like locker rooms, so always wear flip-flops in the shower.
Staph is contracted through small cuts on the skin. Even if there aren't any lacerations visible, it can be contracted through the nail beds on the hands or feet. The MRSA strand of staph can be treated with multiple antibiotics. However, MRSA is strongly resistant to antibiotics and they may be rendered obsolete, according to the Mayo clinic. Students should contact their doctor if they have an infection that does not improve.
To prevent infection or to keep it from spreading, students should wash their hands often. Keep wounds covered so others can't touch it and don't let your roommate borrow toiletries like towels or razors.
A rash may not seem like anything to worry about, but a 17 year-old high school student in Virginia recently died from it, according to The New York Times.
Consider this: antibiotic-resistant strands of bacteria, like MRSA, are responsible for killing more people than AIDS, according to the American Medical Association.
Prevention is the best medicine, so make your health a priority sooner than later.
Once again the Student Association has proven they can't even plan their own birthday parties - chances are, they'd pick a day with a scheduling conflict.
Students have three choices on how to spend their Wednesday night; in class, at a talent show or seeing Ishmael Beah as part of the Distinguished Speaker Series.
In a brilliant move by SA, the Communication Undergraduate Student Union is putting on their 4th annual talent show in the Student Union Theater at 7 p.m.
If students wanted to go to both, they could leave the Talent Show early to make Beah's speech at 8 p.m., but they would only see a fraction of the singing and stupid human tricks set to be performed that night.
Students torn between supporting their friends at the talent show or attending the Distinguished Speaker Series may be upset, but schedule conflicts are a fact of life. However, UB has a history of banking on the fact that not many students will attend their programs. Take last year's senior brunch, for example.
You can't please everybody. But SA should make a more concerted effort to accommodate the schedules of students.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
