Posted on: Tuesday, October 15, 2002

Warriors battled bacterial infections

By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

The physician for the University of Hawai'i football team said he hopes that immediate treatment of cuts and abrasions will prevent another occurrence of Warrior players suffering bacterial infections.

After receiving cuts and abrasions in a Sept. 28 game at Aloha Stadium, quarterback Tim Chang, cornerback Kenny Patton and linebacker Chad Kalilimoku later suffered bacterial infections, UH coach June Jones said.

Jones said Chang, who was treated with antibiotics last Friday night, almost was scratched for the game against Nevada the following night.

Jones has long lobbied for Aloha Stadium to change its artificial turf, insisting the surface is too hard. He said many players have suffered injuries or abrasions from landing on the turf.

"If you didn't have the turf burns, you wouldn't have (infections)," Jones said.

The three UH players suffered cellulitis, the medical term for a bacterial infection of the skin, according to Dr. Andrew Nichols, the team physician. Cellulitis is caused when bacteria invades an open wound. If left untreated, the infection can lead to blood poisoning and, in rare cases, even death.

Because bacteria can breed in almost any place, including locker room showers and the turf, there is no way to precisely pinpoint the origin of the three players' infections.

Staphylococcus, or staph, is the most common bacteria found in cases of cellulitis, although it has not been determined if the players were exposed to that strain of bacteria. Hawai'i's heat and humidity are conducive to nurturing bacteria.

Nichols said UH medical workers are trained to immediately clean and treat all reported cuts and abrasions during games. After cleaning the wounded area, a medical worker will apply an anti-bacterial solution.

Nichols said repeated cleaning and proper dressing of the wound are needed to lower the risk of infection.