'Superbug' infections not widespread here, but caution urged
By BRENDA SOMMER bsommer@leader-news.com

A recent federal report outlined just how widespread infections from a dangerous "superbug" are in this country, causing a wave of media attention and fear, but local agencies said good sanitation habits can keep most staphylococcus infections at bay.

Now that hospitals are reporting Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus infection rates to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it's been found the bacteria causes more life-threatening infections than public health authorities had thought, and is doing so in unexpected ways.

MRSA used to be known as just the "Hospital Superbug."

It was found just in hospitals, nursing homes and some other health care facilities. It was very rarely found in the community, but this is no longer the case.

The strain of a once innocuous staph bacterium that has become invulnerable to firstline antibiotics, is responsible for more than 94,000 serious infections and nearly 19,000 deaths each year, the CDC said. The germ, which is spread by casual contact, rapidly turns minor abscesses and other skin infections into serious health problems, including painful, disfiguring "necrotizing" abscesses that eat away tissue.

Good hygiene is the most effective way to prevent staph and MRSA infections and to prevent the recurrence of treated lesions.

Hands should be kept clean by frequent washings or use of hand-sanitizer lotions. Openings in the skin such as cuts should be kept clean and covered until healed. Contact with other people's skin wounds should be avoided, and personal care items such as towels and razors should not be shared with others.

In the schools

School locker rooms are a notorious breeding ground, for "regular" staph infections, as well as for MRSA contagion. Athletes in contact sports often have cuts or abrasions, and locker-room habits of sharing soap or towels, or not showering at all, can spread the infection.

Staph is a bacterial infection that usually starts when a small cut becomes infected, and can produce anything from a simple boil to a major infection if left untreated.

The El Campo school district had a scare last month when three student athletes developed possible staph infections.

However, nothing came of those cases, Pool said yesterday.

"We never heard anything else from it," he said. "We just stayed with our normal routine of sanitation and disinfection."

"We have two certified athletic trainers on staff who are very familiar with these types of infections, how to treat and prevent the infections, and when to advise the student athletes and their parents to seek medical attention," Superintendent Mark Pool said.

Staph is not unusual in Texas schools - especially in athletic departments where children involved in rough activities such as football are liable to suffer scrapes, small cuts and the like.

Marjorie Sklar, director of personnel and public relations for Wharton ISD, said that district hasn't experienced a major staph outbreak.

"Our head nurse said there's no outbreak of staph this year,"

widespread here, Sklar said. "In the district, we

stress handwashing everywhere, with signs and anti-bacterial soap.

The district has experience that led it to make hygenic reforms some time back.

"A few years ago we had an outbreak of staph, so the nurse told coaches to add bleach when washing uniforms, and told athletes to put bleach in their bath water," Sklar said.

Area hospitals

Steve Gularte, chief executive officer at El Campo Memorial Hospital, said "luckily, we don't have many" MRSA infections.

"MRSA is not new, it's been around for a long time," he said. "It's treatable and every health care facility has policies for dealing with it. We do track it because its significant.

"We have approximately six cases a month, but none of them are hospital-acquired. They are community-acquired MSRA," Gularte said. "We've had no hospital-acquired MRSA in 18 months, which is as far back as we've had records."

Pat Feagin, in charge of infection control surveillance at Gulf Coast Medical Center in Wharton, said that facility handles an average of 10 to 12 cases of community-acquired MRSA each month.

"We began seeing that increase a couple years ago, so we talked to the health department about it and they were beginning to see the same thing, usually in young adults or children," Feagin said.

She reminded parents that there are still drugs that can treat any staph infection, including MRSA, and stressed the importance of cleanliness.

"If you teach your children good hygiene, the chances of them getting something like this greatly diminish," she said.

What you need to know

Staph infections are found in crowded places, such as schools, jails and gyms. Staph can rub off the skin of an infected person and onto the skin of another. It can also be transmitted on a shared object or surface, such as towels, bar soap, hot tub benches and athletics equipment.

Take the following precautions to lower your risk of contracting a staph infection:

• Encourage frequent hand washing with liquid soap and warm water.

• Keep fingernails clean and clipped short. • Avoid contact with other people's wounds. • Avoid sharing personal items. • Clean and disinfect gym and sports equipment.

• Wash dirty clothes, linens and towels with hot water.

• Encourage students who participate in contact sports to shower immediately after each practice, game or match.

• Keep open sores and lesions clean and covered.