New Strain of MRSA Can Kill In Just 24 Hours

Scientists have unraveled the workings of a deadly superbug that attacks healthy young people and can kill within 24 hours.

PVL-producing MRSA, a highly-virulent strain of the drug-resistant superbug, Methicillin- Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus, has spread around the world and caused deaths in the UK, Europe, the US and Australia. PVL or panton-valentine leukocidin toxin destroys white blood cells and usually causes boils and other skin complaints. But if it infects open wounds it can cause necrotizing pneumonia, a disease that rapidly destroys lung tissue and is lethal in 75% of cases.

The GuardianUK