[El Scorcho]

Texas Football Succumbs to Virulent Staph Infection From Turf

By Victor Epstein
Enlarge Image/Details

Dec. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Missy Baker recalls the moment when she realized that her football-playing son, Boone, didn't just have the flu.

"He told me he was paralyzed,'' Baker said. "I said, `What do you mean? I just saw you walk to the bathroom two hours ago.' And he said, `Mom, I can't move my arms or legs.'''

Sixteen-year-old Boone, a wide receiver for Texas's Austin High School, was suffering from a recurrence of methicillin- resistant staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, which his doctor said he got through an abrasion from playing on artificial turf, Baker said.

Texas has artificial turf at 18 percent of its high school football stadiums, according to Web site Texasbob.com. It also has an MRSA infection rate among players that is 16 times higher than the estimated national average, according to three studies by the Texas Department of State Health Services.

"This is a disease that can kill you,'' said Carolina Espinoza, a graduate epidemiology student at the University of Texas in Houston, who helped conduct one of the studies. "If I were a football player, I would be alarmed.''

Full Story: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid= ... xhrJDn.cdc

[Sly Fox]

Its funny that the first case to get national attention was in Bedford County and now you guys find a case here in Houston.

[El Scorcho]

Its funny that the first case to get national attention was in Bedford County and now you guys find a case here in Houston.

A case?!? No, no. Maybe you didn't read the entire article.

At least 276 football players were infected with MRSA from 2003 through 2005, a rate of 517 for each 100,000, according to the Texas studies. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta reports a rate for the general population of 32 in 100,000.

So, in Bedford your chances of getting it are somewhere around 0.032%. On a Texas high school football field, it's around 0.517%. There might have been a couple of kids in Bedford who had it, but your football fields are naaaaaasty.

[thepostman]

MRSA is not something I would desire to have, but it is something that continues to be overblown by the media. If you talk to any credible doctor they will say that same thing. Of course if you just pass it off as the flu you are putting yourself in danger and football players should be well aware of the risks that are present on the football field...but with that kind of reporting its going to cause a state of fear more so then anything else....

[RagingTireFire]

Why are people stupid?

Treat open wounds with disinfectant and take a freakin' shower. With soap. Health crisis averted.

[El Scorcho]

Sly seems to be the only one who got that I only posted this to take a jab at Texas.

I'm completely aware of how overblown MRSA is. You guys are missing the point. Don't pick on MRSA or the media. Pick on Texas.

[Sly Fox]

Participation levels in Texas are through the roof and down here nearly every school has a FieldTurf facility. So based on those numbers alone there will be higher numbers where football is king.

[RagingTireFire]

Pick on Texas.

So what you're saying is that Texans are just as dumb as the good folks in Bedford County? I'd buy that. I knew a few Bedfordites (Bedforders? Bedfordians? Bedfordese?) back in the day and they were as thick as the mud on their pants.

[thepostman]

Sly seems to be the only one who got that I only posted this to take a jab at Texas.

I'm completely aware of how overblown MRSA is. You guys are missing the point. Don't pick on MRSA or the media. Pick on Texas.

So let me get this straight...what you're saying is that high school football players in Texas are so stupid they can't wash themselves properly after football practice???

haha....I get it, I get it

[ATrain]

Participation levels in Texas are through the roof and down here nearly every school has a FieldTurf facility. So based on those numbers alone there will be higher numbers where football is king.

Yes, football is king in Texas...but lets be clear, Texas is not the king of football.

As for the football players...take a shower and use soap. They also make anti-bacterial band-aids for when you get a boo-boo

[LUconn]

They also make anti-bacterial band-aids for when you get a boo-boo

I know we're just supposed to make fun of Texas, but anti-bacterial junk flooding the market is what creates these superbacterias that are resistant to everything in the first place. Stop using them. Plus band-aids are for girls and 5 year olds.

[Cider Jim]

band-aids are for girls and 5 year olds.

Well, then use a little duct tape. If it works it WV, it will work in Texas.

[01LUGrad]

MRSA is not something I would desire to have, but it is something that continues to be overblown by the media. If you talk to any credible doctor they will say that same thing. Of course if you just pass it off as the flu you are putting yourself in danger and football players should be well aware of the risks that are present on the football field...but with that kind of reporting its going to cause a state of fear more so then anything else....

MRSA is just the new sexy thing that we are all going to die from since Bird Flu, Mad Cow Disease, the regular flu, and the Jupiter Effect didn't do the job. (I'm sure I missed a few in there, but it seems that each year the media tells us of the new coming "pandemic" that threatens all of our lives.)

[MacGeek]

MRSA is not something I would desire to have, but it is something that continues to be overblown by the media. If you talk to any credible doctor they will say that same thing. Of course if you just pass it off as the flu you are putting yourself in danger and football players should be well aware of the risks that are present on the football field...but with that kind of reporting its going to cause a state of fear more so then anything else....

MRSA is nothing to play around with... a buddy of mine almost died because it. its a big problem in the wrestling world.. i would not think it would be found on a football field tho. [/i]

[thepostman]

I know its nothing to play with...but its also not nearly as bad as some would make it out to be...when you are involved in things such as wrestling or playing football on artificial turf you need to realize its going to be a risk and just clean yourself properly...and if there is any reason to think you may have it, see a doctor right away and you'll be fine...

in no way was a saying it couldn't be serious...but the majority of cases are treated...its a small percentage that actually die or get extremely ill.

[MacGeek]

true, if you keep yourself clean you can avoid alot of things.

but i think a lot of it is the media and people are so scared of everything. it is often pathetic

[Fumblerooskies]

Hopefully, the media attention will help CURB it. Very simple for the athletes...TAKE A FREAKING SHOWER after all activity.

[RagingTireFire]

The difference between MRSA and all the other "scare bugs" like bird flu, SARS, etc., is that MRSA is a bacteria that is literally everywhere. It's on the field, in the locker room, in your office and in your house. However, it's not a problem unless you have an open wound and don't clean it.

[El Scorcho]

Texas sucks.

[Sly Fox]

Jealousy is an ugly trait, Scorcho.

[El Scorcho]

Jealousy is an ugly trait, Scorcho.

Not even close. I'll be absolutely okay if I never set foot in the lone star state.

[thepostman]

Texas sucks.

[Sly Fox]

Its better if you don't know what you are missing.