October 29, 2007 Hello! Staph infections have been in the news recently, but they are not new.
"Staph is short for Staphylococcus, a type of bacteria.
There are over 30 types, but Staphylococcus aureus causes
most staph infections, including While "[m]ost staph skin infections are easily treated with antibiotics or by draining the infection. Some staph bacteria are resistant to certain antibiotics, making infections harder to treat. ..."
"While most MSRA [Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus
aureus] infections occur in hospitals, the number and
severity of infections in the community appears to be
increasing. 'Some 30 percent of people have staph bacteria
on their skin,' Hageman said. 'The extent to which it is
growing in the community is just being defined.' Hageman's
assessment of the problem follows publication this week of
a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association
that found that MRSA staph infections are more common, both
in and out of hospitals, than experts had once thought.
More people died in 2005 from MRSA infections in the United
States than from AIDS, the journal noted." MRSA has been infecting those in hospitals for years. Recently, the MRSA bacteria have been making the news for temporarily closing schools and infecting (even taking the lives of) children and teens from preschool through college.
"[S]tudents in school districts in at least six states have
been infected with MRSA, and three of the children have
died. Ashton Bonds, 17, of Bedford, Va., died Monday as a
result of infection. Preschooler Catherine Bentley of
Salisbury, N.H., and Shae Kiernan, 11, of Vancleave, Miss.,
both died from infections last week." In an attempt to keep their students safe, schools with suspect cases are closing their doors to clean.
"Thompson Middle School in Southfield was to close at 11:30
a.m. today, after a student was diagnosed with
Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA. A crew will be brought in
this afternoon to sanitize the school, said Ken Siver,
deputy superintendent for Southfield Public Schools. The
district this month closed MacArthur K-8 University Academy
after a MRSA case was confirmed, Siver said. Health
officials this morning cautioned against closing schools,
saying simply removing the student and disinfecting is
often sufficient. 'You might need to take that one student
out of school, but you dont need to close the whole school
down,' said Dr. Gregory Holzman, state chief medical
executive. Holzman and other health workers said frequent
hand washing and not sharing clothing and personal products
can prevent MRSAs spread. The bacteria, which enters the
body through open wounds or contact with bodily fluids, is
resistant to some antibiotics. It can cause symptoms from
mild skin irritations to more severe infections that can
become deadly. Siver said the district chose to close the
school to ensure student safety." While some argue that disinfecting the school is often enough once the infected student has been removed, others question why those in the school are not taking precautions to daily reduced the spread of disease -- and why the school is not the being cleaned more thoroughly on a regular basis, even before there has been a suspected case of infection. In some schools, preventative measures are being taken...
"Health officials at the University of Colorado at Boulder
are urging students, faculty and staff to be vigilant in
their daily hygiene, frequently washing their hands and
wiping down shared athletic equipment following detection
and treatment of eight cases of community-associated MRSA,
or Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus, at the
Wardenburg Health Center. ... Questions of the Week: Please email me with any ideas or suggestions. I look forward to reading what you have to say. Cindy |
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