Infections kill 19,000 Americans each year
It started with routine surgery for Terry Francona, the two-time World Series champion manager of the Boston Red Sox, but it was anything but routine.
He went to a Philadelphia hospital in 2002 for knee arthroscopy, a common outpatient procedure in which surgeons make tiny cuts to insert instruments and repair damaged tissue, and became infected with Staphylococcus bacteria. He fought pulmonary embolisms and blockages in arteries in his lungs, and struggled to survive.
“It kind of spiraled out of control,” said Francona, 49. “Doctors told me, ‘You’ll either get better or you won’t.’ ”
After seven weeks in intensive care, Francona recovered and is now trying to raise awareness. With Hall of Fame Baltimore Orioles pitcher Jim Palmer and the Morgan State University football team, Francona promoted his “Strike Out Infection” campaign Monday morning at the Baltimore Convention Center to spread information on how to prevent infections.
The infections kill 19,000 Americans each year — more than the number of people who die of AIDS — according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, mainly because people don’t take basic steps to clean and cover wounds.
Infections spread by skin-to-skin contact and sharing athletic equipment. The bacteria has evolved into a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strain that is immune to antibiotic treatments.
The strain broke out last year in schools throughout the country, causing officials in Kentucky to close 23 schools, sickening dozens in the Baltimore region and killing a Montgomery County teacher.
Staph devastated Morgan’s football team about three years ago. A new artificial turf harbored the bacteria. One-third of the team’s players got sick and went to the hospital.
Palmer witnessed what Staph can do several years ago, when a houseguest had a cut on his arm and became ill.
The experience helped alert Palmer about six weeks ago to see a doctor when he noticed a small cut on his hand while broadcasting an Orioles game.
“I’m looking at my finger, and I’m saying, ‘So what? I have a cut,’” Palmer said. “And the next day, it’s red and it’s swollen, and that’s when you know it’s infected.”
Palmer caught the infection early enough that it did little damage.
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