Infections

A 35-year-old Santa Barbara triathlete stricken with a rare and virulent streptococcus infection that has become notorious as "flesh-eating" bacteria was improved Thursday afternoon, but remained in critical condition at Sherman Oaks Hospital's burn center. The infection is the same type that set off alarming news reports when a cluster of seven cases was reported in Gloucestershire, England, this spring, followed by a number of reports in the United States.

A genetically engineered hormone with the potential for revolutionizing the treatment of infections has passed its first human safety trial, UCLA and Harvard medical scientists said in a report published today. In experiments conducted in Los Angeles and Boston, the hormone was given to 16 AIDS patients suffering from a wide variety of viral, bacterial and fungal infections that typically afflict people with acquired immune deficiency syndrome.

Hepatitis A, B and C are three viruses known to cause inflammation of the liver. Although their names are similar, these viruses are very different structurally, are spread from one person to another in different ways, and require different strategies for prevention. In the United States, hepatitis A causes almost half of all cases of hepatitis.

The Jarvik-7 artificial heart probably will never be a satisfactory permanent implant because the infections it causes are unavoidable, researchers concluded Thursday. Doctors familiar with the air-driven pump called for a 30-day limit on using the Jarvik as a bridge to a human heart transplant, and one physician warned that future attempts at permanent transplantation "will only serve to further document the magnitude of the complications." But Dr.

A bacterial infection may be a primary cause of extremely premature births, researchers report, a finding that could lead to new ways to prevent the dangerous deliveries. "We're very excited about these findings. The prematurity rate in this country hasn't really decreased in the last 40 years," said Sharon L. Hillier, a research assistant professor at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Knootka, one of Sea World's three adult killer whales, died Tuesday after a four-month battle with a rare fungous infection, Sea World officials said. "It appears Knootka was overwhelmed with the infections," said Dr. Jim McBain, Sea World staff veterinarian. Knootka, who weighed 8,500 pounds, is the third killer whale to die at the private marine park in 18 months. In August, 1988, just three days after the birth of Baby Shamu, the baby's father, Orky, died of old age, park officials said.

Sheriff Sherman Block Thursday denied reports from some county health department physicians that an apparent cluster of a deadly bacterial infection had been found at the Los Angeles Central Jail. "A serious problem with infectious disease does not exist" at any of the county's jails, Block said. The sheriff acknowledged that 12 cases of meningococcal infections had been diagnosed among inmates in 1986 and that one inmate had died.

What started as a twisted ankle Sunday has turned into a fight for survival for a 30-year-old Anaheim women stricken by so-called flesh-eating bacteria. Doctors at Anaheim Memorial Medical Center have amputated both of Ana Maria Garcia's legs and part of her right hand to try to halt the spread of the virulent infection, called necrotizing fasciitis. She was in extremely critical condition, a hospital spokeswoman said.

British health authorities have blamed the deaths of at least 90 people on a virulent bacterial infection that swept through three hospitals in south-central England, where patients allegedly were forced to defecate in their beds and wait for hours for clean sheets.

An experimental antibiotic may prevent or delay the onset of a life-threatening and difficult-to-treat infection that afflicts thousands of AIDS patients, according to previously confidential data made available to The Times. A recently completed study of 590 AIDS patients has shown that the drug, rifabutin, can nearly cut in half the rate at which patients develop the infection, which is known as Mycobacterium avium complex, or MAC.