 |
John Morgan |
He nearly died from it.
For the past few years, physicians, scientists and health workers around the world have been telling the public about the increase in methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections.
Staphylococci or “staph” infections, as they are commonly known, are a major cause of sickness and death worldwide, and frequently result in skin infections, as well as infections in the bloodstream and other areas of the body.
Until recently, most MRSA infections were acquired as complications of health care, but now MRSA is increasing in populations with no discernable explanation.
The danger: The current arsenal of drugs to effectively treat MRSA is limited.
Morgan, a retired high school principal at Conestoga Public Schools, said he doesn’t know how he contracted the staph infection. “The only thing I can think of was not long before I retired, I accidentally cut my hand on my desk,” he said.
The Murray, Neb., resident will never forget the 2002 Nebraska-Oklahoma football game. He and his wife, Jan, were at a friend’s house watching the game when his hip started hurting. He went to an area emergency room when the pain worsened.
Health professionals thought his sciatic nerve was causing the pain, so he was given pain medication, which helped. But when the pain didn’t go away after two days, he went to the doctor. He knew something was drastically wrong when the doctor suggested he immediately go to the hospital.
Morgan said he doesn’t remember going to The Nebraska Medical Center, nor spending the night there. He said following tests, the next day, it was discovered he had staphylococcus in his blood stream and it had settled into his hip and spine.
“I had to have surgery on my spine and was treated with medications for my hip,” Morgan said. “I was in the hospital a month.”
While there, Morgan gave permission to be part of an international study that ultimately demonstrated the effectiveness and safety of a new drug – daptomycin — for treating bloodstream and heart infections caused by staph.
The study was published Aug. 17 in the New England Journal of Medicine. Read more about the study in UNMC Today.
Morgan’s physician, Mark Rupp, M.D., professor of infectious diseases, headed the UNMC research team that collaborated with 43 other centers involving 246 patients in four countries.
“Mr. Morgan’s case is an example of how severe staphylococcal infections can be and how they can strike persons who would not otherwise be considered at risk,” Dr. Rupp said. “It also is an example of why we need additional antibiotics.”
Morgan, who lost 40 pounds during the ordeal, says Dr. Rupp saved his life.
Once discharged from the hospital, he remained on antibiotics for almost a year. “Had I not gone to the hospital when I did, I probably would have died,” he said.