Tattoos Linked to Hard-to-Treat Bacterial Infection

Tattoos Bacterial

A rare but difficult-to-treat bacterial infection so as to usually strikes people with impaired immune systems is showing up intended for the first time in healthy individuals getting tattoos, the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention report Tuesday.

Two cases of skin infections cause through this bacterium, called Mycobacterium haemophilum, have occurred in those receiving tattoos in the Seattle area, the CDC said these bacteria are in the same family as those that cause tuberculosis and leprosy, Symptoms of the disease include small bumps at the site of disease, in addition to redness, pain, swelling and discharge, the researchers said.

The infection is not responsive to traditional antibiotic treatments, and even through the right drugs, can take months to heal since of the rarity of the infections, tattoo aficionados shouldn't be too worried, the researchers say but the researchers want to enlarge awareness of these infections so doctors know to look for them, said study researcher Meagan Kay, a CDC Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer through the public health department in Seattle with King County.

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