Bacteria on skin cause of dangerous infection among drug users

BOSTON — Up to two percent of the population has dangerous bacteria on their skin on a given day.

It’s called methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, and it’s mostly harmless unless it’s introduced into the bloodstream.

That’s the problem for opioid drug users.

“Anytime you’re puncturing the skin with a needle, you’re running the risk of introducing bacteria into your bloodstream,” Mass. General’s Dr. Sarah Wakeman explained. “And with MRSA, that’s a set-up for a potentially fatal infection.”

Leah Lantini knows well the intimate relationship between injectable drug use and MRSA.

“My brother was Michael Lentini,” Leah explained. “He was 33 years old and he was a heroin addict.”

Seven years ago, Michael was released from jail after an 18-month sentence. While incarcerated, he got his GED.

“For the first time in my brother's life, I saw my brother looking to the future,” Leah explained.

But soon after his release, Michael felt ill.

“So he did some heroin,” she said. “That'll make everything better.”

It didn't.

“He couldn't breathe too good. He couldn't walk. My other brother had to carry him down to the car,” Leah said. “And mom took him to the emergency room. And he was admitted with pneumonia.”

Within days, the family got bad news. Michael was infected with MRSA.

"By the time they discovered he had MRSA, it had gone from his blood and into his organs," said Leah.
Just five days after he was admitted to the hospital, Michael died.

Leah knows that technically it was a bacterial infection that killed her brother. But she also knows there would have been no MRSA, had there been no heroin.

“It destroys your mind. It destroys your life. And it's everywhere,” she said.

Leah estimates that from the time he got sick to the time he died, Michael had MRSA for three weeks.

It’s important to note that, in general, when infections are caught early they are easier to treat. And not all MRSA infections result in death.

There are some antibiotics that do work against the bacterium.

MORE: Hidden Illness: Bacterial infection adding to opioid epidemic death toll

Cox Media Group