Health Department advises cleanliness to help fght MRSA

According to District Health Department officials, cleanliness is the best weapon against the threat of bacterial infections.

MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus) has been in the news lately, with school closings and other measures prompted by discoveries of bacterial infections. Health officials explained that MRSA and VRE (Vancomycin Resistant Enterococcus) are bacteria that are resistant to the usual antibiotics that have been used against them for years.

Antibiotic resistant organisms have appeared on the scene, it is thought, because of the wide use of antibiotic prescriptions that act to change the bacteria’s environment, allowing them to invoke a genetic change and cause them to become resistant to the antibiotics. MRSA is a problem in schools, hospitals, daycares, and the community as a whole. Health Department officials said that combating this public health problem will require new strategies.

In the community, most MRSA infections are skin infections that may start as perceived “spider bite” like lesions and progress rapidly to pustules or boils which are often red, swollen, and painful. These lesions should be incised and drained for cure and culture and sensitivity. They often progress rapidly and require different antibiotics than Staphylococcus. MRSA can cause serious infections of the lungs, urinary tract, deep tissues and blood stream.

Health officials say that most MRSA infections are potentially serious, but can be treated. Persons can carry MRSA in their noses, on their skin, or in their lungs without symptoms. MRSA is transmitted by direct skin to skin contact or by contact with shared items or surfaces or by objects used by others. MRSA commonly appears in schools, athletic team settings, jails, and where people live in close contact or have less than adequate hygiene.

Health officials said that hand washing and the cleaning of surfaces and objects with Environmental Protection Agency approved cleaners will control the spread of this organism in all settings. If a person has open skin that is infected with MRSA, the wound area should be covered by a dressing and effective hand washing time and technique is essential.

The best way to avoid getting a staph infection, including MRSA, is to wash your hands and keep surfaces and clothing clean. District 10 Medical Director Dr. James Wilson recommends these guidelines for all settings including schools, day care centers, and the health care field:

• Allow students time to wash their hands. Handwashing at the beginning of the day, before eating and after recess will decrease the risk of getting or spreading germs of all types.

• Provide students, teachers, and health care providers with waterless hand cleaner if soap and water are not available.

• Use single-use paper towels or hot air hand dryers after washing your hands.

• People should use their own towel. Towels should not be shared by anyone.

• Gym clothes and towels should be laundered in the hottest tolerable water with soap and dried in the hottest tolerable dryer setting. Gym equipment should also be cleaned frequently.

• Clean frequently touched surfaces, such as doorknobs and door handles, with hot soapy water.

• Use warm soapy water to clean a minor cut or scrape. More serious cuts and injuries should be examined and treated by a doctor.

• All draining wounds should be kept covered.

• Generally speaking, people with a staph infection should wait two to four days after treatment has started to return to school or work.

• Use antibiotics wisely. Take all of a prescribed antibiotic as directed by your doctor. Don’t take someone else’s antibiotics.

The Health Department also provided these links to MRSA-related information that is available online:

1. District Health Department #10: http://dhd10.org/current_topics.html (under current health topics)

2. Hand Washing Technique: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5605a4.htm

3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dhqp/ar_mrsa_ca.html; http://www.cdc.gov/Features/MRSAinSchools/

4. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases: www3.niaid.nih.gov/topics/AntimicrobialResistance

5. Michigan Department of Community Health MRSA Treatment Guidelines: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dhqp/pdf/ar/CAMRSA_ExpMtgStrategies.pdf

District Health Department #10 in Newaygo County can also provide additional information. The department can by contacted locally by phone at 689-7300; fax at 689-7382; or mail at PO Box 850, White Cloud, MI 49349.