Young athletes in contact sports at higher risk for dangerous infections

If your young athletes play contact sports, you may have something to learn from the recent injury to a New York Giants football player.

The Giants tight end Daniel Fells injured his ankle during a recent practice, according to ABC News. Following the injury, Fells was treated with an injection, leading to more pain, a fever, and eventual hospitalization, with doctors fearing that his foot may need to be amputated.

It turns out Fells was infected with a strain of the Staphylococcus aureus (staph) bacteria that is resistant to multiple antibiotics. Multiple resistant staph (MRSA) infections are increasingly common among athletes, including young athletes, and one researcher has found the problems are even more likely in those who play contact sports.

Dr. Buddy Creech of Vanderbilt University Medical Center is an expert in children’s infectious diseases. His study of 377 college athletes in both contact and non-contact sports showed a much higher incidence of MRSA infections in those playing contact sports.

In fact, the contact sports athletes had an incidence of staph colonization that was three times higher than would be expected in people generally. While colonization by staph does not necessarily lead to infections, the common cuts and injuries that come with playing contact sports appears to make those athletes more susceptible to the dangerous infections.