MRSA Not Only Pops up in Health Care Facilities

(Photo: WBOC)

11/01/2007 11:51 PM ET

PRINCESS ANNE, Md.- While a strain of the staphylococcus infection known as MRSA has historically popped up in health care facilities, the bacteria is becoming more prevalent in local communities.

MRSA, short for methicillin-resistant-staphylococcus-aureus, is a bacterial infection that is highly resistant to antibiotics.

University of Maryland Eastern Shore Director of Student Health Sharone Grant said, "The bacteria is what we call community acquired as opposed to being confined to health care facilities where we're accustomed to seeing it."

According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, all it takes to catch MRSA is having close contact with or touching the same object as an infected patient.

That means locker rooms and sports practices are prime spots for the bacteria to spread around if someone has it. Grant said that someone could be anyone.

"It doesn't actually have any preference for age gender or anything. It's more opportunistic," Grant said.

UMES Freshman Ronald Blake said he is worried about catching an infection because there are so many confined spaces on campus.

Blake said, "I don't know anyone who's been infected with it but I have read about it and it sounds pretty scary so I think everyone should be cautious about it."

Staff members at UMES have cleaned locker and weight rooms with disinfectant to kill off the bacteria. There are also places like the gyms where students can sanitize their hands with alcohol-based gels.

If someone catches MRSA anyway, Grant said there is no reason to panic.

"The bacteria are resistant to penicillin, yes. But people should not assume that because it does not respond to that family of drugs, there are no antibiotics. Individuals can be treated with very good outcomes," Grant said.

You can recognize an MRSA infection as a pus-filled pocket underneath the skin's surface. 

Doctors say the sooner the infection is recognized the easier it is to treat it. 

Staph has schools scrubbing

By Christine Wallgren, Globe Correspondent  |  November 1, 2007

School custodians across the region are stepping up cleaning efforts in their battle to keep buildings well scrubbed, sanitized, and free from an antibiotic-resistant strain of staphylococcus that is showing up in classrooms.

Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus - known as MRSA - has been reported in a handful of schools south of Boston, with the most recent case last week. The outbreak prompted administrators to take preventive measures against the potentially dangerous bacterial infection, which is far more common in nursing homes and hospitals.

"The key . . . is prevention, practicing some basic hygiene, and good wound care," said Donna Rheaume, spokeswoman for the state Department of Public Health. "I can tell you, we have seen an increase in both hospital- and community-acquired MRSA, so we're stressing prevention."

While healthy people normally make a full recovery with treatment, MRSA is believed to have been responsible last month for the deaths of a Virginia high school student, Rheaume said. New York state health officials also believe it caused the death of a New York City middle school student last month.

The cases reported in south-of-Boston schools have had a more fortunate outcome; all the affected students have recovered.

Silver Lake Regional High School in Kingston had two cases reported last month. The first appeared on the arm and back of a boy, according to Superintendent John Tuffy. A school nurse spotted it when the student asked her for a Band-Aid. The second student's case was reported by a parent of a girl who, principal Richard Kelley said, probably contracted it in the summer.

Both students are clear of the infection and are back in school, Kelley said.

"Fortunately, it is spread by contact rather than being airborne, which helps," Tuffy said. "We've been trading phone calls" with other school districts. "All of us have become more educated about this."

Tuffy said the district made calls to parents via its automatic phone system, notifying them of the cases, and sent home a fact sheet on the bacteria. Silver Lake High School students emptied all lockers in the gym area last Friday, and custodians sanitized that area, along with the cafeteria, nurse's office, restrooms, hallways, and some classrooms over the weekend.

A student who attends evening school at Bridgewater-Raynham Regional High School was diagnosed with MRSA last week. The classrooms used for night classes, as well as the locker room and gym equipment, were immediately cleaned and disinfected, according to Marie Fahey, the school district's nurse. Fahey sent a letter notifying all high school parents of the incident and subsequent cleanup. She also advised parents to check the Department of Public Health website (mass.gov/dph) for more information.

MRSA infections appear on the skin as pustules or boils, which often are red, swollen, and painful. They most often affect areas of previous cuts or abrasions. Almost all MRSA skin infections can be effectively treated, some with antibiotics and some without.

Southeastern Regional Vocational Technical High School in Easton had a single case of MRSA in a student athlete in September. Principal David Wheeler said it was diagnosed by the student's doctor. Everything at the school was disinfected.

"We use standard universal precautions for blood-borne pathogens anyway," Wheeler said. "We're watching what other schools are doing, and if it's a good idea, we grab it."

In Wareham, a school official said the high school had received a call from a parent reporting a case of MRSA. The student is back at school, the official said, but has not provided further medical documentation of MRSA infection. Superintendent James Collins is emphatic that the school has no "documented" MRSA cases so far, but precautions are being taken.

"The problem with this is it can be anywhere at any time," Collins said. "We have hand sanitizers in all our classrooms. Custodians are washing the doorknobs and handrails with a bleach solution. Normally we don't do this until flu season. Maybe it will cut down on the number of cases of flu we have this year."

It is hard to get a definitive case count for area schools, because MRSA incidents are not reportable to state health authorities.

According to Rheaume, statistics showed there were 18,000 deaths nationwide related to MRSA infection in 2005, the most recent year for which statistics are available. In Massachusetts, there were about 2,500 known cases of the virus that year, and 400 to 500 deaths. "Most of those were elderly in long-term care facilities," she said.

Hanover Schools Superintendent Kristine Nash said her system has no problems, perhaps because students already practice care.

"When you look at how it's spread, a lot of it is about good hygiene, particularly good hand hygiene," Nash said. "We have life-threatening allergies among the students, so we stress hand-washing at a very conscientious level. It's the way we operate, and we've had no problems."

Christine Wallgren can be reached at CLWallgren@aol.com. 

Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 11/2/07

BY ALESHA WILLIAMS
STAFF WRITER

MARLBORO -- Township schools have reported an unconfirmed case of MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) in a student at the Marlboro Early Learning Center.

The student became ill several weeks ago, according to Superintendent of Schools David C. Abbott. The illness was reported to the school after the child had completely recovered and provided medical clearance to return to school, Abbott
said.

The district learned of the illness Wednesday afternoon and issued a letter to parents Friday, district spokeswoman Sharon Witchel said.

"Our understanding is the child was treated for MRSA but a culture was not taken,'' Witchel said. "It's technically an unconfirmed case.

"Just as with any other infectious disease, the child had to bring a medical doctor's note back to school so that we're assured the child is well and there's no danger of an infectious disease spreading to other children or to our staff,'' Witchel said.

The district has since last month been using a cleaning protocol meant to minimize the spread of MRSA and other bacteria, according to the letter.

Meanwhile, the Howell school district on Friday afternoon confirmed a second case of MRSA at Middle School South via an e-mail alert.

That student has undergone appropriate medical treatment and has been cleared by his pediatrician to return to school, the alert said.

School officials said the entire school will be disinfected over the weekend.

The cases are among several throughout Ocean and Monmouth counties reported over the last few weeks. The disease recently has been blamed for the deaths of one student in Virginia and another in New York.

(PA)

No have not gotten that far. Im looking at the new cases coming from the schools everyday.

CUSHNET, Mass. - A Massachusetts elementary school is taking precautions after a student was diagnosed with a drug-resistant staph infection. NBC 10's Larry Estepa said officials at the Acushnet Elementary School started an aggressive cleaning regimen after a student came down with the skin condition known as MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus). The child's parent alerted the school. "This is something we're fully in control of," said school superintendent Stephen Donovan. "We've talked to the Department of Health." School officials sent a letter home to parents and reminded parents to teach their kids good hygiene. "We need to take precautions, but that doesn't mean we need to panic," said Dr. Hanumara Chowdri, a Southcoast Hospitals Group specialist. Chowdri advised parents that if their children come down with an infection, to bring it to the attention of a doctor. Donovan said the student who was diagnosed with the staph infection has been treated and cleared to come back to school.
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	RENTHAM, Mass. - Two Massachusetts communities are taking precautions after public school students were diagnosed with a drug-resistant staph infection. A cleaning crew was brought in to sanitize the Delaney Elementary School in Wrentham after a second-grader came down with the skin condition known as MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus). But the town's school superintendent said there was no evidence the girl contracted the disease at school and that it was unlikely to spread to other children. In Dartmouth, two students, one at the high school and one at a middle school, have confirmed cases of the staph infection

MRSA Confirmed In NYU Freshman; School Says Students Not At Risk

IMHO It is odd we have not heard the word epidemic said much concerning this. Isn't it rather obvious? And so many states and this is just what is being reported. As I posted today.. in Virginia until two weeks ago MRSA wasn't even being reported.

I suspect, and this is very subjective, were you to map this you would find more than half of the states already have a new strain which is a lot nastier than what we have lived with for decades and born and bred in hospital, gyms, and prisons.

Have learned a rather simple truth here. When people start dying from something, and it happens in more than 12 states, then we just begin to even respond to the threat. MRSA is a great template to gauge what will be the Avian response to a Pandemic.  A lot of lessons to be learned here.

The biggest is when something is spreading rampantly all over the country is not the time to begin to deal with it.  These super bugs have been the cause of a majority of hospital deaths for years and what has been the effort to stop this before it jumped in the the general population and caused a lot of grief.

Anyway, better to light one candle than curse the darkness. There must be more serious efforts made to stop the spread of this and be sure that washing your hands still kills it. It is obvious that most of our best first line antibiotics don't.

Some disturbing facts coming out of U.K.

http://www.4ni.co.uk/nationalnews.asp?id=37552

Dr Mark Enright, from the University of Bath, also said that better hospital hygiene would not be enough to prevent the spread of the infection.

In an article published in this month's edition of 'Microbiology Today', Dr Enright, an expert on the evolution and epidemiology of MRSA, said that the increase of infections in the UK coincided with the appearance of two clones, called UK Epidemic MRSA clone-15 and clone-16. These clones, Dr Enright said, were uncommon elsewhere in the world, and this could explain why MRSA infections had increased in Britain.

Dr Enright said that these clones were more contagious than other strains of the infection and claimed that the only way to stop the epidemic was by using proven measures, such as patient isolation.

Dr Enright said that there was little scientific evidence to prove that there were less MRSA infections in clean hospitals. He said: "Better hand hygiene will have some effect, but only a radical measure, such as isolating all patients with particularly transmissible MRSA strains, would really solve the problem."

MRSA mainly causes invasive disease following infection of tissues around devices placed in the body, such as venous catheters. Drugs that suppress patients' immune systems, such as those taken by kidney transplant patients, may also enable MRSA to take hold, Dr Enright said.

However, he admitted: "we simply don't know how MRSA comes into a hospital, colonises staff and patients and then causes serious disease."

Figures published in July 2004 showed that MRSA infections in England had increased by 3.6% in the last year.

Liberal Democrat Shadow Health Secretary, Paul Burstow said that Dr Enright's research showed that the government needed to make infection control "a top priority". He said: "There is a shortage of isolation facilities in the NHS. Despite repeated questioning, Ministers haven't got a clue how many isolation facilities there are, let alone what plans there are to add more. Simply promoting hand washing is clearly not enough. More screening and isolation, when necessary, should all be considered as weapons in the fight against the superbugs."

In November, Health Secretary, John Reid announced plans to reduce the number of MRSA infections by half by 2008.

Recent government initiatives to try to stop the spread of the infection include the installation of alcohol rubs at every staff patient contact point; the launch of the Matron's Charter; and the appointment of Chief Nursing Officer, Chris Beasley, to oversee cleanliness and hygiene in hospitals.

As part of these initiatives, over one million NHS employees will receive additional training in infection control measures.



posted by Medclinician

Hi MedC

Students at three WCPS schools had MRSA

By Sharon Swanepoel The Walton Tribune

LOGANVILLE � Walton County Public Schools has joined the growing number of school systems around the country dealing with cases of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, more commonly known as MRSA.

�There have been four cases confirmed by culture of MRSA reported in WCPS this school year,� said WCPS spokesperson Kim Embry in a release. �All four cases have been treated. One case was reported at Carver Middle School, two cases were reported at Loganville Middle School and one case was reported at Walker Park Elementary School.�


�WCPS has a team of professionals meeting to be sure that we have the most up-to-date information concerning procedures and protocols for protecting the health of our students and staff,� Embry said. �We have been consulting with the Walton County Health Department and reviewing CDC literature to make certain that our system is responding to this issue correctly.�

But some parents are concerned the school system has known about the cases for several weeks and have not yet notified parents or taken extra steps to disinfect or clean the schools.

�I notified the school in September about my son�s case,� said the mother of one of the LMS students diagnosed with MRSA, who did not wish to be identified. �I also contacted the school board but nobody got back to me and no notification was sent out.�

Letters were sent home with students Thursday.

�WCPS has prepared an informational letter for parents concerning this issue which is being sent home this week,� Embry said. �We have also put links to information on MRSA on our Web site, www.waltoncountyschools.org. It is important that parents become informed about this issue so that they understand what responses by both the school system and the family are appropriate for MRSA.�

Parents said they want to see the schools properly cleaned to prevent cross infection, even closed down to do so if necessary. A school system in Kentucky with one diagnosed case closed down the entire school system of 23 schools Monday to clean with bleach, something local parents feel WCPS should consider if necessary.

There has been talk of picketing in front of LMS if additional steps aren�t taken to clean the school.

However, national news media are beginning to back off the hype since there is criticism now being leveled at them for making more of the situation than it really is. MRSA hit the headlines when a student in Virginia died as a result of a MRSA infection and has stayed in the headlines since then. The family of the student has now filed a lawsuit asking for $25 million in compensation from the city, state and education authorities.

According to Lewis Kudon, district epidemiologist at the Northeast Georgia Health District, under which Walton County falls, the law does not require authorities to be advised of cases of MRSA in schools. However, Taka Wiley, of the state Department of Human Resources Health Division, said serious cases of MRSA are required to be reported.

WCPS officials are concerned there has been a lot of unwarranted hype and want to assure parents this year isn�t really any different from previous years in the number of MRSA cases reported.

According to the Georgia Division of Public Health, MRSA has now emerged as a serious threat in the community. It has a warning on the Web site alerting the public to the threat.

�Until recently, MRSA was seen almost exclusively in hospitalized patients. Because we are now seeing it in the community, especially in pockets such as groups of athletes, children in childcare settings and crowding situations such as prisons and jails, the Georgia Division of Public Health is working to educate the public to prevent this threatening infection,� the alert reads.

There has, however, been research by the CDC indicating methamphetamine users are five times more likely to have an infection progress to MRSA and it was likely that would filter into the general population in increased numbers.

Anybody with concerns can go to site www.cdc.gov/Features/MRSAinSchools/#q7.

By KOMO Staff & News Service

PORT TOWNSEND, Wash. -- Another person has been diagnosed with MRSA, a drug-resistant and potentially deadly staph infection, at a second school in the Port Townsend School District.

An adult in the preschool portion of Grant Street Elementary School has tested positive.

Principal Steve Finch said the infected person has received medical treatment and is no longer contagious. School officials have canceled preschool for Monday and Tuesday to allow crews to disinfect the classroom. The rest of the school, however, will hold classes as normal.

MRSA claimed the life of John F. Jones, 46, of Federal Way, on Wednesday at Harborview Medical Center. It is not known where he contracted the disease.

Also on Wednesday, a senior football player at Port Townsend High School was diagnosed with MRSA. Following the news, school officials shut down the school gym and weight room and cancelled Saturday's final football game. The student is said to be responding to antibiotics.

Meanwhile, a second Port Townsend High student and a student from Prairie Elementary School in Yelm have been tested for MRSA and are awaiting results, which are due back on Monday.

MRSA, short for "methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus" has become known as "the superbug" as it is resistant to antibiotics and difficult to treat.

Physical symptoms of the illness include lesions, boils and red bumps on the skin that may resemble a spider bite. Anyone with any questions about a possible symptom should contact a physician immediately.


"We're here to talk about a public health issue that should scare each one of us in this country," said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah.

Officials are calling for a unified effort to educate people about the dangers of MRSA as well as prevention methods for MRSA.

Last month, researchers said it appears the staph infection is killing more Americans each year than AIDS. The government reported in its first broad look at the invasive disease that more than 90,000 Americans are sickened by it annually.

"The rate of invasive MRSA was an astounding 31.8 per 100,000," according to an editorial published with the report in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association.

Published November 3, 2007

Nixa schools report staph cases

Dangerous strain of infection found; precautions taken.

Kathleen O'Dell
News-Leader

Health experts renewed their warnings about good hygiene after Nixa school officials on Friday confirmed two cases of a potentially dangerous staph infection in the junior and senior high schools.

Neither case was related or serious � both were caught early.

But their occurrence among two unrelated students serve as a reminder that the strain of staph called methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, is active in the community, said Dr. Brian Mahaffey. The director of St. John's Sports Medicine also works with Missouri State University and area public school athletic trainers.

Nov 4, 2007 8:15 am US/Pacific

Student At Yuba City School Has 'Superbug'

 CBS13.com's 'Superbug' Section: What You Need To Know About Staph Infection

Staph Infection Hits Rider H.S.

DEVELOPING STORY: 11 Reported MRSA Cases In Local Schools

MRSA closes West Platte school

West Platte R-II school in Weston will be closed Tuesday after a case of MRSA in an elementary student was reported Monday.

West Platte Superintendent Kyle Stephenson said crews would clean the school and that classes would resume Wednesday. The school serves about 675 students from kindergarten through high school, all in the same complex.

�We�re just trying to be careful and prudent,� Stephenson said.

VALDOSTA GA,  Local school health officials are increasing efforts to educate students and staff members on the prevention of Staph Infection, following the MRSA (Methhicillin-Resistant Staphyloccus Aereus) diagnosis of one local Elementary School student.

According to Lowndes  County Schools Public Relations Manger, Heather Bonner, a Lake Park Elementary student was diagnosed with having the MRSA Staph Infection strain, which in recent months, has drawn national concern as it is thought to be related to the death of a high school student in Virginia.