According to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more people in the United States die from the Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) staph infection than from AIDS.
According to CDC figures, MRSA caused an estimated 94,000 infections and 18,650 deaths in 2005. Approximately 16,000 people in the US have died from AIDS.
"Staphylococcus aureus (staph) infections have existed for a long time, causing mild to severe illness. MRSA is a kind of staph infection that may be more difficult to treat but is otherwise the same as a staph infection," said Susan Snyder, director of Health Services and Student Health and Wellness. "The potential difficulty in treatment of MRSA is due to its resistance to methicillin family of antibiotics."
According to Snyder, staph bacteria can enter the body through breaks in skin. Mild infections may look like a pimple or boil, which can be red, swollen, tender, pus-filled or other drainage. If the infection is more serious it may cause pneumonia, blood stream infections or severe wound infections.
"Many staph skin infections may be treated by draining the abscess or boil and may not require antibiotics. Drainage of skin boils or abscesses should only be done by a health care provider," Snyder said.
Snyder said that antibiotics can help treat and cure the infection. The infection is resistant to only one set of antibiotics; other antibiotics are still useful and effective in treating the illness.
An article in the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that "invasive...MRSA infections occur in approximately 94,000 persons each year," and of these, approximately 14 percent are community-associated.
Community-associated MRSA are infections found in community settings outside of health care facilities. The CDC has been investigating five or more cases of community-associated MRSA among athletes, children, prisoners and military recruits.
Factors that have been associated with the spread of MRSA are close skin-to-skin contact, openings in the skin such as cuts or abrasions, contaminated items and surfaces, and poor hygiene, Snyder said.
"Staph is passed from person to person through direct contact with the skin or through contact with contaminated items. Colleagues of mine, who are involved in the health care community, compare preventative techniques to those of the common cold," said Kenneth Kern, building service operations manager of University Residence Halls and Apartments.
According to Kern, these preventative techniques include practicing good hygiene, the main focus being proper and frequent hand washing with soap and water; covering skin trauma, such as cuts and abrasions with a clean dry bandage until healed; and avoiding the sharing of personal items like towels and razors. Use a barrier, for example a towel or piece of clothing, between yourself and shared equipment like weight training benches.
According to Snyder, good advice to concerned individuals and the UB community as a whole is to arm themselves with good information and take easy, logical steps to prevent MRSA.
According to Kern, providing awareness and educating students and cleaning staff about MRSA can help prevent unnecessary fears.
"I think the recent attention being paid to MRSA by the media is what scares most people," said Alexander Vesneske, a junior business administration major.
According to Snyder, the Office of Environment, Health and Safety Services is coordinating prevention efforts.
The Office of Environment, Health and Safety Services claims that the best defense against this bacterial infection is education. Information and similar messages are being reviewed with staff, faculty and students within Residence Halls and Apartments, Division of Athletics and University Facilities.
"The guidelines generated by the Student Health Services (adapted by the CDC) were disseminated to all professional staff and posted in areas to inform our students. This same information was also reviewed at our most recent staff meetings. Our staff has been using a disinfectant product in our daily cleaning procedures that identifies a MRSA kill claim," Kern said.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
