The New Gay Plague Panic: MRSA

Joe.My.God and Bloggernista continue their excellent work by reporting on the latest 'gay plague' panic discussion about a new strain of MRSA (methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus) which the New York Times and other media outlets have been reporting has been showing up in higher than average occurrences in geographically compact gay ghettoes like the Castro District in San Francisco and Boston. Mad Professah has commented over at Rod 2.0's coverage of the same story. The new strain is resistant to not only methicillin but also mupirocin, clindamycin and tetracylcine.

For example, Joe has a link to this recent statement by the CDC on MRSA infections in Men who have Sex with Men:

MRSA is a common cause of skin infections throughout the United States. These infections occur in men, women, adults, children, and persons of all races and sexual orientations, and are known to be transmitted by close skin-to-skin contact. In this issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine, Diep et al looked at isolates of MRSA - USA300 strains containing a particular plasmid associated with additional drug resistance. The paper shows that multidrug-resistant USA300 has emerged as an important source of disease among men with have sex with men in 2 geographically distinct communities.

The strains of MRSA described in the recent Annals of Internal Medicine have mostly been identified in certain groups of men who have sex with men (MSM), but have also been found in some persons who are not MSM. It is important to note that the groups of MSM in which these isolates have been described are not representative of all MSM, so conclusions can not be drawn about the prevalence of these strains among all MSM. The groups studied in this report may share other characteristics or behaviors that facilitate spread of MRSA, such as frequent skin-to-skin contact.

CDC’s extensive and continuing study of invasive MRSA in 9 US states indicates that these strains are rare. CDC continues to monitor resistance patterns and strain characteristics in MRSA isolates submitted to CDC for a variety of investigations. Bacteria are able to acquire resistance to antibiotics. It is concerning that these bacteria are becoming resistant to more antibiotics than the typical community associated-MRSA strains because this limits the available treatment options. Fortunately, there are still effective choices available to treat infections when antibiotics are required, including those antibiotics given by mouth. It remains important to do what we can to prevent transmission of these strains and of MRSA in general.

MRSA is typically transmitted through skin-to-skin contact, which occurs during a variety of activities, including sex. There is no evidence at this time to suggest that it MRSA is a sexually-transmitted infection in the classical sense.

I'd love to get the backstory on the CDC moving so quickly to send out a statement in this area. I wonder of openly gay Dr. Kevin Fenton who heads CDC Sexually Transmitted Diseases department had something to do with it.


Mad Professah had a MRSA skin infection himself way back in 2004 which was quickly cured with mupirocin creme and sulfa drugs but it was NOT a fun experience! (It lasted about two weeks.) I have no idea how I got it, I had been reading grant reports in the Washington, D.C. area when I noticed a very nasty looking ingrown hair/pimple on my leg. By the time I got back home to L.A. my leg had a 6" diameter angry-looking raised area which was extremely painful to touch.

As I reported last year 95, 000 Americans were infected with MRSA last year according to a study and over 19, 000 people died from the invasive version of MRSA infection.
Both the new strain found in the "gay ghettoes" and the standard MRSA are known as MRSA USA300.