thedrifter
12-16-02, 01:51 PM
By Brian Hazle
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
December 15, 2002
Nearly 100 Marines have been hospitalized with a potentially life-threatening form of streptococcus infections, a Navy spokesman said yesterday.
Three of the Marines were in the intensive care unit last night and 61 others were quarantined in a ward at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego to prevent the illness from spreading.
The Marines, stationed at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, became sick Wednesday with streptococcus A, a bacterium commonly found in the throat and on the skin.
It was unclear whether any officers were among the ill or if all of the sick were in the same unit. Ninety-six Marines have been treated since the outbreak, Navy spokesman Doug Sayers said.
Last night Sayers said the cause of the outbreak was under investigation.
"We are looking at it," Sayers said. "This kind of thing is pretty typical when you have people in close proximity 24 hours a day."
Group A streptococcus, or group A strep, can cause anything from mild skin and throat irritations to life-threatening conditions, such as scarlet fever and pneumonia. In the most serious cases, strep A can lead to necrotizing fasciitis, a flesh-eating disease that attacks deep layers of tissue.
Sayers said infectious disease specialists would test nearly 5,000 recruits and staff members at the depot today and treat them with antibiotics.
"What we are trying to do is dampen the spread," he said.
Symptoms, usually visible within three days of exposure, depend upon the severity of the illness.
Strep throat causes swollen lymph glands, severe sore throat, and fever while the skin infection causes red sores. Scarlet fever can cause all the symptoms of strep throat plus a red rashes on neck, chest and thighs.
Sayers said it appears the outbreak is unrelated to the death Thursday of a Marine private who collapsed with chest pain after water survival training.
Sempers,
Roger
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
December 15, 2002
Nearly 100 Marines have been hospitalized with a potentially life-threatening form of streptococcus infections, a Navy spokesman said yesterday.
Three of the Marines were in the intensive care unit last night and 61 others were quarantined in a ward at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego to prevent the illness from spreading.
The Marines, stationed at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, became sick Wednesday with streptococcus A, a bacterium commonly found in the throat and on the skin.
It was unclear whether any officers were among the ill or if all of the sick were in the same unit. Ninety-six Marines have been treated since the outbreak, Navy spokesman Doug Sayers said.
Last night Sayers said the cause of the outbreak was under investigation.
"We are looking at it," Sayers said. "This kind of thing is pretty typical when you have people in close proximity 24 hours a day."
Group A streptococcus, or group A strep, can cause anything from mild skin and throat irritations to life-threatening conditions, such as scarlet fever and pneumonia. In the most serious cases, strep A can lead to necrotizing fasciitis, a flesh-eating disease that attacks deep layers of tissue.
Sayers said infectious disease specialists would test nearly 5,000 recruits and staff members at the depot today and treat them with antibiotics.
"What we are trying to do is dampen the spread," he said.
Symptoms, usually visible within three days of exposure, depend upon the severity of the illness.
Strep throat causes swollen lymph glands, severe sore throat, and fever while the skin infection causes red sores. Scarlet fever can cause all the symptoms of strep throat plus a red rashes on neck, chest and thighs.
Sayers said it appears the outbreak is unrelated to the death Thursday of a Marine private who collapsed with chest pain after water survival training.
Sempers,
Roger