Study: Antibiotic-Resistant MRSA Superbug Found in US Homes

[donnay]

Study: Antibiotic-Resistant MRSA Superbug Found in US Homes

Lily Dane
The Daily Sheeple
April 23rd, 2014

An antibiotic-resistant superbug that has long been a problem in hospitals and other health care settings has found a new reservoir: U.S. homes.

MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, is a bacteria that is responsible for many hard-to-treat infections in different parts of the body. Its resistance to common antibiotics like penicillin and amoxicillin has earned MRSA a place in the “superbug” category.

In hospitals and other medical facilities, MRSA can cause life-threatening infections in the bloodstream, urinary tract, lungs, and surgical sites.

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[donnay]

The Sweet Golden Treat That Can Help Wipe Out Deadly MRSA

By Dr. Mercola

Honey was a conventional therapy in fighting infection up until the early 20th century, at which time its use slowly vanished with the advent of penicillin. Now the use of honey in wound care is regaining popularity again, as researchers are determining exactly how honey can help fight serious skin infections.

According to their findings, certain types of honey might be more effective than antibiotics! After any skin injury, bacteria that live on your skin can infect and penetrate the wound site. One particularly common type of strep (Streptococcus pyogenes) can result in wounds that refuse to heal.

But honey, especially the kind made by bees foraging on manuka flowers, was found to destroy these bacteria. Scientific American recently reported i:

"In lab tests, just a bit of the honey killed off the majority of bacterial cells -- and cut down dramatically on the stubborn biofilms they formed. It could also be used to prevent wounds from becoming infected in the first place."

According to the authors of the study, "These findings indicate that manuka honey has potential in the topical treatment of wounds containing S. pyogenes." ii

Should You Dress Your Wounds with Honey?

As long as you use the right kind of honey, science does back up its use for wound treatment, which is especially relevant today as antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections are on the rise.

Five years ago, the FDA authorized the first honey-based medical product for use in the US. Derma Sciences uses Manuka honey for their Medihoney wound and burn dressings, which can be found online from medical supply stores. Amazon.com also sells them. These products can also be found in Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.

When considering using honey for the treatment of wounds, it's extremely important to understand that there's a major difference between raw honey—and especially Manuka honey, which is in a class of its own—and the highly processed "Grade A" type honey you find in most grocery stores. The latter is more akin to high fructose corn syrup, which is more likely to increase infection, and should never be used to treat topical wounds! (It also will not offer you the same health benefits as raw honey when consumed.)

Manuka honey, on the other hand, is made with pollen gathered from the flowers of the Manuka bush (a medicinal plant), and clinical trials have found this type of honey can effectively eradicate more than 250 clinical strains of bacteria, including resistant varieties such as:

MRSA (methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus)
MSSA (methicillin sensitive Staphylococcus aureus)
VRE (vancomycin-resistant enterococci)

Compared to other types of honey, Manuka has an extra ingredient with antimicrobial qualities, called the Unique Manuka Factor (UMF). It is so called because no one has yet been able to discover the unique substance involved that gives it its extraordinary antibacterial activity. Honey releases hydrogen peroxide through an enzymatic process, which explains its general antiseptic qualities, but Active Manuka honey contains "something else" that makes it far superior to other types of honey when it comes to killing off bacteria.

The level of UMF can vary between batches, so each batch is ranked and priced accordingly. The higher the concentration of UMF, the darker, thicker, and more expensive it is.

To determine its rating, a sample of the honey batch is placed on a plate with a bacterial culture. The area where the bacterial growth stops is then measured. This area is compared to a similar area produced by a solution of phenol and water. The UMF number refers to the equivalent percentage of phenol in water, so, for example, honey with a UMF rating of 10 has the same antibacterial strength as 10 percent phenol. A rating of UMF 10 or higher is recommended for medicinal use.

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[donnay]

Manuka Honey Effective Against Antibiotic Resistant MRSA
http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/man...resistant-mrsa

Synergism between Medihoney and Rifampicin against Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%...l.pone.0057679

Mechanism of Honey Bacteriostatic Action Against MRSA and VRE Involves Hydroxyl Radicals Generated from Honey’s Hydrogen Peroxide
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3273858/

Proteomic and genomic analysis of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) exposed to manuka honey in vitro demonstrated down-regulation of virulence markers.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24176984

[MelissaWV]

Medihoney's been used at work for years, but not as a solo treatment. It's one of those wonderful things you can add to a regimen without putting other treatments out of balance. There are also some kinds of wounds where the area is just too large or too involved for honey-related treatments to work. It's just one more option, but it's nothing new.

[donnay]

Medihoney's been used at work for years, but not as a solo treatment. It's one of those wonderful things you can add to a regimen without putting other treatments out of balance. There are also some kinds of wounds where the area is just too large or too involved for honey-related treatments to work. It's just one more option, but it's nothing new.

It might not be new per se, but it is rarely used and when you bring it up to the doctors/nurses they look at you like you have lobsters crawling out of your ears. It was amazing, either they played stupid or they were totally ignorant of the facts.

Most of the people I had dealt with in the medical community didn't use Medihoney or had ever heard of it. They were using Bacitracin for pressure wounds and staff infections along with IV antibiotics.

[MelissaWV]

It might not be new per se, but it is rarely used and when you bring it up to the doctors/nurses they look at you like you have lobsters crawling out of your ears. It was amazing, either they played stupid or they were totally ignorant of the facts.

Most of the people I had dealt with in the medical community didn't use Medihoney or had ever heard of it. They were using Bacitracin for pressure wounds and staff infections along with IV antibiotics.

Weird. It's certainly been in wide use at both the main hospital and my department for quite a long time, with the exceptions noted earlier.

[CPUd]

If you use the honey, keep away from cat:

[Brian4Liberty]

Strains of staph have always been with us, and always will. The new antibiotic resistant strains are just evolution at work. Too many antibiotics created them. MRSA will eat them for breakfast.

[donnay]

Strains of staph have always been with us, and always will. The new antibiotic resistant strains are just evolution at work. Too many antibiotics created them. MRSA will eat them for breakfast.

Yes, too many antibiotics. People will have to look towards alternative treatments now.

1. Turmeric
2. Oil of Oregano
3. Tea tree oil
4. Manuka Honey
5. Olive leaf extract

[donnay]

Manuka Honey For People And Pets: Remarkable Healing Properties Destroy Frightening Superbugs Better Than Antibiotics — MRSA’s Worst Nightmare

by JB Bardot

Manuka honey is a powerful antibacterial, antiviral and anti-inflammatory agent that kills antibiotic-resistant superbugs such as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE). Clinical trials have been conducted into its effectiveness against conditions such as diabetes, bladder infections, skin infections, ulcers and cancer. Honey has been used medicinally for thousands of years in ancient Greece, in China for Traditional Chinese Medicine and in India with Ayurveda. While western cultures have always seen it as a health food, its medicinal properties are only recently being discovered. Researchers now believe that certain types of honey have stronger healing properties than others. Manuka honey is considered to be one of the most potent, and Western medicine is only just beginning to understand its amazing healing potential. Due to the popularity of Manuka honey, some manufacturers have attempted to cash in on the trend by producing low grade honey and labeling it as authentic Manuka Honey. To let consumers know exactly what they are buying, licensed manufacturers have come up with a labeling system known as the Unique Manuka Factor which lets individuals know the strength and potency of the product.

Where Does Manuka Honey Come From?

Manuka honey is produced by imported European honeybees that harvest pollen from the Manuka tree which grows wild throughout New Zealand and Australia. The Manuka tree is also known as the Tea Tree and produces small white flowers that are responsible for the earthy, herbaceous taste associated with Manuka honey. It has become big business for beekeepers in Australia and New Zealand who are now exporting the honey all over the world.

What is Unique Manuka Factor (UMF)?

Unique Manuka Factor, or UMF, is a quality control scale that lets you know the potency of the honey before you buy it. All whole, raw honey has antibacterial properties due to it containing a small amount of naturally-occurring hydrogen peroxide. Manuka honey contains a unique non-peroxide antibacterial compound that gives the honey its remarkable healing properties. Researchers have named this compound the Unique Manuka Factor and established a standard for measuring the potency of different strains of honey.

The following scale measures the level of non-peroxide antibacterial activity in Manuka honey:

- Unique Manuka Factor 5 – 10 indicates a low level of activity

- Unique Manuka Factor 10 – 15 indicates useful levels of activity

- Unique Manuka Factor 16+ indicates extremely high activity and the honey is considered to be of a superior quality.

Unique Manuka Factor 10 and above is considered to be therapeutic grade honey.

Manuka Health New Zealand Limited has its own system for grading the antibacterial activity of their honey. This system is a trademark of the brand and only appears on their products. Each product has a label giving the MGO content of the honey which stands for Methylglyoxal, an active compound responsible for antibiotic activity. This compound is different from that which is measured by the Unique Manuka Factor. However, the strength of the two different compounds are linked, and you can compare the antibiotic activity of Methylglyoxal versus Unique Manuka Factor using this online tool: http://www.umf.org.nz/umf-trademark/...ion-calculator

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