Browns dealing with staph issue

[bengaldee]

Team worried about contamination at training facility SI.com

BEREA, Ohio (AP) -- Browns center LeCharles Bentley was recently hospitalized following season-ending knee surgery with a staph infection, raising concerns of contamination at Cleveland's training facility.

Bentley's infection is the fifth known case of staph for a Browns player in the past three years, a disturbing pattern general manager Phil Savage described as "a staph infection outbreak."

Since 2003, linebacker Ben Taylor, wide receiver Braylon Edwards, safety Brian Russell and tight end Kellen Winslow had various strains of staph, a bacteria that enters the body through the skin and can cause larger health problems.

"There's something going on around here," said Winslow, who contracted staph following knee surgery after a motorcycle accident last year. "A lot of people have had it. They need to do something."

Bentley, a former Pro Bowler and the Browns' prized free agent signing last offseason, tore his patellar tendon during the club's first 11-on-11 play of training camp on July 27 and had surgery the following day.

Savage said Bentley came down with the infection after the operation and had the infection cleaned out on Aug. 28. Savage would only say Bentley was hospitalized for "a significant amount of time."

Savage said Bentley's infection sent them to the Cleveland Clinic, the club's longtime health care provider and current sponsor, for answers.

"We asked them to review our building, our practices, their facilities, a full review," he said.

"They have since come back to us and informed us that their conclusion is that any of the cases we've had have been unrelated and the Browns have done everything possible to prevent any kind of infections in our locker room, on the field, in the indoor (facility), all those things."

People can get staph from contaminated objects, and the infection can be spread by skin-to-skin contact.

The Browns aren't the first NFL team to have issues related to staph, which has become increasingly resistant to antibiotics.

Earlier this year, the Washington Redskins hired a company to treat their practice facility in Ashburn, Va., with a spray that controls the growth of bacteria and mold. Before the spraying to combat MRSA -- a potent form of staph -- the team had new carpeting installed and painted its locker room, weight room and training room.

In 2003, five St. Louis Rams players who suffered turf burns developed a type of staph infection resistant to the common antibiotic of methicillin. A report in the New England Journal of Medicine last year said a few members of the San Francisco 49ers developed infections after playing the Rams.

Savage said the club doesn't feel any need to bring in an independent consultant to address the staph situation.

"Our partner is the Cleveland Clinic," he said. "We've trusted them with the medical care of our players. We're trusting the Clinic that they're on top of this."

Savage said the Clinic's inspection control team visited the Browns' facility twice in the past year and that the team has worked to protect its players and the team's other employees.

"We feel like we're on top of that and we shouldn't have any problems going forward," he said.

The Browns have discussed the possibility of staph being present on the field turf in their indoor practice facility.

"It's like grass, but a guy sweats and he spits and all that rubberized material is down in there," Savage said. "It's something the high-ups are probably looking into on a league-wide scale."

Bentley, who signed a six-year, $36 million contract in March, was already facing a long recovery from his knee injury. Savage doesn't feel the staph infection will slow Bentley's comeback significantly.

"It shouldn't be a huge setback," he said. "We'll have a better idea in February."

Also, Savage refused to give any details on right offensive tackle Ryan Tucker's absence from the team. On Thursday, coach Romeo Crennel said Tucker, who hasn't been with the team since Sunday's loss to Denver, had a "medical illness."

"We're not at liberty to discuss it," Savage said. "You start breaking laws when you talk about these medical and injury situations."

[ChicagoBengal]

[quote name='bengaldee' post='373469' date='Oct 27 2006, 10:15 PM']Team worried about contamination at training facility SI.com

BEREA, Ohio (AP) -- Browns center LeCharles Bentley was recently hospitalized following season-ending knee surgery with a staph infection, raising concerns of contamination at Cleveland's training facility.

Bentley's infection is the fifth known case of staph for a Browns player in the past three years, a disturbing pattern general manager Phil Savage described as "a staph infection outbreak."

Since 2003, linebacker Ben Taylor, wide receiver Braylon Edwards, safety Brian Russell and tight end Kellen Winslow had various strains of staph, a bacteria that enters the body through the skin and can cause larger health problems.

"There's something going on around here," said Winslow, who contracted staph following knee surgery after a motorcycle accident last year. "A lot of people have had it. They need to do something."

Bentley, a former Pro Bowler and the Browns' prized free agent signing last offseason, tore his patellar tendon during the club's first 11-on-11 play of training camp on July 27 and had surgery the following day.

Savage said Bentley came down with the infection after the operation and had the infection cleaned out on Aug. 28. Savage would only say Bentley was hospitalized for "a significant amount of time."

Savage said Bentley's infection sent them to the Cleveland Clinic, the club's longtime health care provider and current sponsor, for answers.

"We asked them to review our building, our practices, their facilities, a full review," he said.

"They have since come back to us and informed us that their conclusion is that any of the cases we've had have been unrelated and the Browns have done everything possible to prevent any kind of infections in our locker room, on the field, in the indoor (facility), all those things."

People can get staph from contaminated objects, and the infection can be spread by skin-to-skin contact.

The Browns aren't the first NFL team to have issues related to staph, which has become increasingly resistant to antibiotics.

Earlier this year, the Washington Redskins hired a company to treat their practice facility in Ashburn, Va., with a spray that controls the growth of bacteria and mold. Before the spraying to combat MRSA -- a potent form of staph -- the team had new carpeting installed and painted its locker room, weight room and training room.

In 2003, five St. Louis Rams players who suffered turf burns developed a type of staph infection resistant to the common antibiotic of methicillin. A report in the New England Journal of Medicine last year said a few members of the San Francisco 49ers developed infections after playing the Rams.

Savage said the club doesn't feel any need to bring in an independent consultant to address the staph situation.

"Our partner is the Cleveland Clinic," he said. "We've trusted them with the medical care of our players. We're trusting the Clinic that they're on top of this."

Savage said the Clinic's inspection control team visited the Browns' facility twice in the past year and that the team has worked to protect its players and the team's other employees.

"We feel like we're on top of that and we shouldn't have any problems going forward," he said.

The Browns have discussed the possibility of staph being present on the field turf in their indoor practice facility.

"It's like grass, but a guy sweats and he spits and all that rubberized material is down in there," Savage said. "It's something the high-ups are probably looking into on a league-wide scale."

Bentley, who signed a six-year, $36 million contract in March, was already facing a long recovery from his knee injury. Savage doesn't feel the staph infection will slow Bentley's comeback significantly.

"It shouldn't be a huge setback," he said. "We'll have a better idea in February."

Also, Savage refused to give any details on right offensive tackle Ryan Tucker's absence from the team. On Thursday, coach Romeo Crennel said Tucker, who hasn't been with the team since Sunday's loss to Denver, had a "medical illness."

"We're not at liberty to discuss it," Savage said. "You start breaking laws when you talk about these medical and injury situations."[/quote]

And on an unrelated note, many of the stealers are battling yeast infections.

[staticx682000]

We all know cleveland was hit with a dirty bomb....

[Jamie_B]

[quote name='ChicagoBengal' post='373737' date='Oct 28 2006, 02:34 PM']And on an unrelated note, many of the stealers are battling yeast infections.[/quote]

[MAGICTOUCH]

[quote name='bengaldee' post='373469' date='Oct 27 2006, 11:15 PM']Team worried about contamination at training facility SI.com

BEREA, Ohio (AP) -- Browns center LeCharles Bentley was recently hospitalized following season-ending knee surgery with a staph infection, raising concerns of contamination at Cleveland's training facility.[/quote]


Do they really think this is something new?????

[Guest LoyalFanInGA]

[quote]The germ is nothing. It is the terrain in which it is found that is everything. -Louis Pasteur[/quote]

Phil Savage needs to pay closer attention to what his medical advisors are telling him. There are 53 places the Cleveland Browns can look and find staph...the 53 players on their roster. Also, Phil Savage has staph. Phil's family has staph. The Cleveland Browns management, front office, scouts, trainers, doctors, etc have staph. The fans in the stands have staph.

Staph aureus is normal skin flora. On the surface, it is usually harmless. When it reaches the deeper tissue layers it can lead to infections which can range from simple to life threatening. An abrasion or a surgical incision gives the bacteria a portal of entry. You can get a staph infection without any apparent break in the skin integrity.

It takes a bacterial load of about 100,000 organisms per gram of tissue for signs of infection to present themselves...redness, swelling, heat, and tenderness. Passing a single suture through the skin reduces the bacterial load needed for infection from 100,000 to 1,000 organisms per gram of tissue.

In one study involving 11 university emergency departments, 320 out of 422 (76%) adult patients with skin infections were due to staph aureus. Among that 76% of staph aureus infections, 59% were due to methacillin-resistant staph aureus or MRSA.

MRSA is a type of staph that doesn't respond to treatment with the 'typical' antibiotics given for skin infections in the past. But, it is still treatable withother antibiotics.

MRSA can develop when antibiotics are prescribed too frequently or when they are not indicated. In the case of the St. Louis Rams, the CDC determined the team physicians and/or trainers were prescribing antibiotics at a rate 70% greater than the general population and many times when there wasn't an indication for antibiotics.

So in conclusion, if you don't want a skin infection...don't get a boo boo. If you get a boo boo, keep it clean. If you don't want MRSA, lock yourself in your room and never come out because 3-6 out of every 10 people you come into contact with have MRSA and it is spread by direct contact/touching (depending upon what study you read and what part of the country you live in.)

And if you are still worried about MRSA in your field turf, you're not very bright. Mix water and bleach in a 10:1 ratio and spray it on your field and you can sleep easy at night in your little fantasy world.

[Guest Agent Orange]

related article: [url="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061125/ap_on_sp_ot/infected_athletes"]http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061125/ap_on_...fected_athletes[/url]