WHILE one strain of Staphylococcus aureus may be making a comeback (see above), others are being blamed for triggering a particularly unpleasant illness.
Purpura fulminans is the term used to describe extensive clotting of blood within the blood vessels, and the resulting death of soft tissue, often leading to organ failure and amputations. It is most commonly a complication of infections by the bacterium Neisseria meningitidis, which fortunately are rare.
But Patrick Schlievert’s team at the University of Minnesota has described 14 cases of purpura fulminans apparently triggered by respiratory infections of S. aureus. In a few the culprit was an MRSA superbug – one of…
