Area residents are advised to be on the lookout for a potentially serious type of staph infection that has been reported in recent weeks.
This website brought to you in part by the following sponsor:
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus, or MRSA, is a staph infection that is resistant to antibiotics known as beta-lactams, which include methicillin and more common antibiotics such as oxacillin, penicillin and amoxicillin. Staph bacteria is carried on the skin or in the nose of healthy people and most often, it does not cause an infection. When it does result in an infection, it can usually be treated with antibiotics. MRSA, however, is resistant to such treatment.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, MRSA infections that are acquired by persons who have not recently (within the past year) been hospitalized or had a medical procedure such as dialysis, surgery or catheters, are known as community-associated MRSA as opposed to healthcare-associated MRSA that occurs among patients in hospitals and other healthcare settings. The type that has most recently been reported in this area is community-associated MRSA. Even cases that are reported in a healthcare facility may originate from the community and are community-associated MRSA.
MRSA, like other staph infections, can cause infections that may look like a pimple, boil or bite and can become red, swollen and painful. Pus or other drainage may also be present. More serious infections may cause pneumonia, bloodstream infections or surgical wound infections. If MRSA is suspected, a health care provider should be sought.
“MRSA is becoming more common, especially community-associated MRSA, and it does require a visit to a health care provider.” said Kim Oaks, administrator of the Grundy County Health Department. “It needs to be cultured to determine that’s what it is. Even though it can start as a pimple or a boil, it can become very serious.”
There are certain antibiotics, some of which are extremely expensive, that can be used to treat MRSA. These may be given intravenously if necessary. Drainage of skin boils or abscesses may also be required, although this should only be done by a healthcare provider.
Factors that are most often associated with the spread of MRSA skin infections include close skin-to-skin contact, openings in the skin such as cuts or abrasions, contaminated items and surfaces, crowded living conditions (such as a camp or dormitory situation) and poor hygiene.
Mrs. Oaks said that, like any other communicable illness, practicing good hygiene is the best way to prevent MRSA skin infections. Hands should be thoroughly washed with soap and water or by using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer; cuts and scrapes should be cleaned and covered with a bandage until healed; contact with other people’s wounds or bandages should be avoided; and personal items, such as towels and razors, should not be shared. She also recommends that sheets, towels and clothing be washed separately from those of the rest of the household.
“I wouldn’t recommend isolation,” she said. “But definitely I think bedding and towels should be washed separately. It’s kind of the same common sense you would use with any other type of illness.”
More information on MRSA can be found at the website of the Centers for Disease Control at www.cdc.gov.