A New Castle County female became the second Delawarean to develop the rare vancomycin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (VRSA) infection.
Delaware's Division of Public Health (DPH) confirmed test results on Thursday, Sept. 2. A press release was sent out Friday, Sept. 3.
The Division of Public Health is not identifying the victim to protect her rights, DPH spokeswoman Jennifer Wooleyhand said. The federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 protects the privacy of individually identifiable health information.
The first case, another female, was positively identified in April 2010, Wooleyhand said. The state has not released the county that she lives in.
According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this brings the national case number to 12. The CDC is conducting further tests of this latest case.
VRSA is a type of antimicrobial-resistant staph bacteria. While most staph bacteria succumb to the antimicrobial agent vancomycin, VRSA has developed resistance to this drug. However, other Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved drugs have been successful in treating this infection.
The latest victim is doing well but is still battling long-term, chronic illnesses, Wooleyhand said. The type of treatment is up to the attending physician but the DPH Lab has determined that this infection is susceptible to common antibiotics.
DPH's investigations concluded that in both Delaware cases, the victims were being medically treated for multiple underlying health conditions, Wooleyhand said.
At this point, Diamond State officials are not overly concerned at with an outbreak of VRSA infections, Wooleyhand said.
“This is a rare condition and person-to-person transmission has not been documented,” she said. “So most Delawareans are not at risk. However, we are concerned about the trend that common organisms are increasingly showing antibiotic resistance.”
People more susceptible to VRSA infections are those who have several underlying health conditions such as diabetes or kidney disease or have had previous staph infections, been hospitalized, had tubes going into their bodies or recent exposure to vancomycin or other microbial agents.
Although the CDC has not documented VRSA to be communicable, DPH investigates whether anyone had close contact with the infected individuals as a precaution, state officials said. Those who have come in contact with the victims are advised of VRSA precautions, prevention and resources.
Division of Public Health officials continue to encourage health professionals to use appropriate infection control practices, such as frequent hand washing and masks when medically indicated, to reduce the spread of VRSA.
