Resistant Bacteria Meet Reality Television - NYTimes.com Page 1 of 2 Resistant Bacteria Meet Reality Television By Tara Parker-Pope January 23, 2008 11:09 am The fashion reality competition Project Runway got a scary dose of reality recently when one of its contestants came down with an infection caused by MRSA, the virulent strain of drug-resistant bacteria that captured headlines last fall after the deaths of two young students. New York fashion designer Jack Mackenroth, 38, was diagnosed with community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, and has since recovered. But the emergence of MRSA on reality TV comes amidst warnings that the potentially deadly bacteria has become more common. Last fall, The Journal of the American Medical Association published a report that MRSA appears to be killing more people annually than AIDS, emphysema or homicide, taking an estimated 19,000 lives in 2005. Mr. Mackenroth says he first thought the infection was just a pimple in his nose, but he soon developed swelling inside his lip and on the left side of his face. The designer says he actually had experienced a MRSA infection a few years ago on his leg, and the progression of the infection seemed similar. Knowing that MRSA requires prompt treatment, he made the decision to leave the show even before being formally diagnosed. “Once you’ve had it once, you are very alert to the symptoms,” Mr. Mackenroth said in a phone interview. “The quicker you catch it, the easier it is to treat.” He said that he wanted to seek treatment quickly, but he also was concerned about infecting his fellow contestants. “It’s very contagious,” he said. “You get it by contact with other people. You touch your face, you touch other surfaces — it’s a common space. That was a concern for me.” http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/23/resistant-bacteria-meets-reality-television/?module=Se... 12/26/2014 Resistant Bacteria Meet Reality Television - NYTimes.com Page 2 of 2 After he left the show, doctors confirmed his suspicions, and he was admitted to the hospital for five days for an intravenous antibiotic treatment. MRSA is resistant to most antibiotics, but when caught early enough, it can be treated with other less commonly used drugs. Although the actual infection occurred in June, the episode featuring his departure first aired in December and has been shown in repeats since then. As a result, Mr. Mackenroth says viewers ask about his health when they see him on the streets. “It’s a serious condition, and it can happen to anyone,” he said. “I did make a complete recovery, and I’m completely fine.” To see what MRSA looks like, I recommend the Web site VisualDxHealth, which I wrote about here. To learn more about how to protect your family from MRSA, read this blog post from last fall. Comments are no longer being accepted. © 2014 The New York Times Company http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/23/resistant-bacteria-meets-reality-television/?module=Se... 12/26/2014.