Centreville Animal Hospital Newsletter
www.centrevilleanimalhosp.com

Vol. 7 Number 11

News and Views as Fall Starts Dry and Warm

Richmond Key Points about MRSA . Virginia Department of Health, October 18, 2007, www.vdh.virginia.gov

Staphylococcus aureus ("staph") infections are not new, nor are antibiotic resistant staph infections such as MRSA. Certain groups have always been at increased risk of infection from staph-athletes, military recruits, children, incarcerated people and people who are hospitalized or in non-hospital healthcare facilities. In reality, children and adults in general are at no greater risk of infection this week than they may have been last week.

Many people have heard of staph before.  It's been around forever.  MRSA is a type of staph that have grown resistant to some of the antibiotics that are normally used to kill staph.  Other antibiotics can kill MRSA, and not all MRSA infections need to be treated with antibiotics.  Doctors sometimes treat them by just draining the wound, for example.

Staph live on people's skin and in their noses.  About 20% of people at any time might be carrying staph bacteria on themselves and not be aware of it.  About 1% may carry MRSA.  Sometimes staph can enter the body through breaks in the skin and cause infection.  Usually these are wound infections, but sometimes more serious internal infections can occur.  Those serious infections most often occur in people who have weakened immune systems or have recently had surgery or other invasive medical procedures.

MRSA used to occur mostly in hospital or other healthcare settings.  Since the 1980s it has been seen more in community settings.  Most outbreaks have been seen in prisons and jails, where crowded living conditions allow it to spread from person to person or in athletic teams, where there is a lot of skin to skin contact and wounds are common.

Staph, including MRSA, are passed from person to person through direct skin to skin contact, often through contaminated hands touching another person.  It may also be passed by touching items contaminated by another person.

The key ways to prevent the spread of staph bacteria are through frequent and thorough handwashing and through proper wound care.  Hands should be washed after toileting or diapering, before eating, and before and after changing bandages.  Wounds should be cleaned and covered with bandages.  Those wounds that do not heal properly or have unusual amounts of drainage or pus need medical attention.

Cleaning is always good.  No special cleaning is needed to rid an environment or surface of staph.  Clothes, towels, and blankets can be washed in hot water with regular laundry detergent.  Regular household cleaners, like Lysol or bleach solution (one part bleach to nine parts water), can be used to clean surfaces.  It is important to realize that, because staph is carried around by people, once people enter an environment that has been cleaned, the bacteria may be brought back into the environment.  Regular, routine cleaning is recommended.

Additional special precautions should be taken in athletic teams.  Anyone who has a wound whose drainage cannot be contained by a bandage or other dressing should be excused from activities.  Uniforms and personal equipment should be assigned to individuals and not shared.  Uniforms and towels should be laundered after each use.  Surfaces, such as benches and mats, should be cleaned after each practice or game.