i took this from the LA boys of Leather message board, and i felt like sharing with you all. i've also attached some info on MRSA strain of Staph.

Hi there.

Robert Matt, Leather columnist for IN Magazine and an upcoming Boy Talk speaker, has asked me to pass on the following information.

His boy, roughboy john, aka John Trewhitt, passed away on Thursday from a staph infection in his bladder. This is the person I talked about to those of you who were at the Boy Talk yesterday.

There is a Memorial Service this Tuesday (April 26) at 2:30 at the MCC Church in West Hollywood. It would mean so much to Robert and His Leather Family if you could attend the service, even if you never met roughboy john. Please take Tuesday afternoon off from your workplace if at all possible. I will be wearing my LAboL uniform and I'd like to see the other members wear theirs too. Tuesday is also our Monthly Meeting, so if those of you coming in from out of town could make it, that would be great.

For anyone receiving this announcement on the Yahoo! Group who is not a member of LAboL, your attendance at the Memorial Service will be appreciated as well.

Attached to this email is a photo of Robert and john.

roughboy john was 1 day shy of his 45th birthday. he was HIV Negative, and very healthy just a week before he died. PLEASE educate yourself on staph infections, especially the MRSA strain, which seems to be running rampant in the LA, SF, and NYC gay communities. Below are some informative links, but please do your own research as well.

http://www.baywindows.com...7469.shtml

http://www.aids.org/atn/a-388-01.html


Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus: Staphylococcus aureus (a
type of staph bacteria) resistant to the antibiotic methicillin.
Abbreviated MRSA.

MRSA first cropped up among persons in hospitals and other health
facilities, especially among the elderly, the very sick, and those
with an open wound (such as a bedsore) or a tube going into their body
(such as a urinary catheter or IV catheter).

MRSA has since been found to cause illness in the community outside of
hospitals and other health facilities. MRSA in the community is
associated with recent antibiotic use, sharing contaminated items,
having active skin diseases, and living in crowded settings.

Skin infections caused by MRSA have clustered among injecting
drug-users, Native Americans, prison inmates, and athletes in
close-contact sports. Community-associated MRSA infections typically
cause skin lesions (such as boils), but also can cause severe illness.
Some children have died from community-associated MRSA.

The transmission of MRSA is largely from people with active MRSA skin
infections. MRSA is almost always spread by direct physical contact,
and not through the air. Spread may also occur through indirect
contact by touching objects (such as towels, sheets, wound dressings,
clothes, workout areas, sports equipment) contaminated by the infected
skin of a person with MRSA. Just as S. aureus can be carried on the
skin or in the nose without causing any disease, MRSA can be carried
in this way also. This is known as colonization.

MRSA infections are usually mild superficial infections of the skin
that can be treated successfully with proper skin care and
antibiotics. MRSA, however, can be difficult to treat and can progress
to life-threatening blood or bone infections because there are fewer
effective antibiotics available for treatment.

If someone has an MRSA infection, they can help from spreading it by
keeping infections, particularly those that continue to produce pus or
to drain material, covered with clean, dry bandages; by advising close
contacts to wash their hands frequently with soap and warm water,
especially if they change the bandages or touch the infected wound or
potentially infectious materials; by not sharing personal items (such
as towels, washcloth, razor, clothing) that may have had contact with
the infected wound; by washing linens and clothes with hot water and
laundry detergent and drying them in a hot dryer; and by telling
healthcare providers that you have an antibiotic-resistant staph skin
infection.

Please take some time to check out the following sites for further information. Be safe.

http://www.cdc.gov/search...ethicillin

http://www.google.com/sea...us%22+2005