The Superbug

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This article appeared in the Winter 2007 issue of Texoma Living!.

Staphylococcus Aureus, aka S. aureus or staph, has been around as long as the human race. Staph bacteria colonize about thirty percent of the healthy population in the U.S. at any given time, usually in their noses or on their skin.

Carrying the staph bacteria colony does not automatically result in illness. Often the carrier is not infected, but he may infect others. Common, relatively minor, skin infections include folliculitis, boils, styes, and impetigo. If the bacteria get into the body via an open wound, lesion or scratch, complications may occur. Infections are particularly dangerous for the elderly and people with impaired immune systems.

Starting with discovery of penicillin, which came into widespread use during World War II, modern antibiotics proved very effective in knocking out staph infections. In 1961, two years after the first use of methicillin, a drug of the penicillin family developed to treat staph, the bacteria started to fight back by producing a methicillin resistant gene.

The gene continued to evolve to the point that many strains of staph are now resistant to a variety of commonly prescribed antibiotics. When researchers added the tag “Methicillin-resistant” to staph’s scientific name, the term MRSA (pronounced mersa) came into use. The spread of these strains of Superbugs is what concerns health professionals.

Direct skin-to-skin contact spreads staph, as well as by contact with objects touched by people with staph, such as towels or shared athletic equipment. The sports connection appears to be the source of increases in staph infections in the local area.

“We have an increase over the last few years of MRSA staph infections in the schools with the kids playing in sports,” said Nurse Practitioner Charlene Howard of the Grayson County Health Department. “We tell them to use good hand washing techniques and not use wet towels that another person has used. If they have open lesions, they should cover them with Band-Aids.” Howard said she was not aware of any serious complications from these types of infections in this area.

Many common staph and MRSA staph infections are mild and may heal themselves if kept clean and dry, but MRSA strains require special measures and antibiotics. Treatment of MSRA with commonly prescribed antibiotics is not effective, but without laboratory tests there is no way to tell if the infection is from an MRSA strain. Delay in diagnosis can prolong the infection and increase the danger of complications. For this reason, Nurse Howard says that if an infection is large, painful, warm to the touch or does not heal promptly the infected person should see a doctor.

To lessen the chance of contracting a common staph or MRSA infection, use basic common sense as suggested by these tips from the Massachusetts Department of Health.

- Keep your hands clean by washing them frequently with soap and warm water or hand sanitizer, and especially after direct contact with another person’s skin.
- Keep cuts and scrapes clean and covered with a bandage until they have healed.
- Avoid contact with other people’s wounds or bandages.
- Avoid sharing personal items such as towels, washcloths, toothbrushes, and razors. Sharing these items may transfer staph from one person to another.
- Keep your skin healthy, and avoid getting dry, cracked skin, especially during the winter. Healthy skin helps to keep staph/MRSA on the surface of your skin from causing an infection underneath your skin.
-See a doctor if you have any questions or an infection that does not improve.

And since hand washing is so important in preventing the spread of MRSA, here is the way the Centers for Disease Control says to do it.

When washing hands with soap and water:

- Wet your hands with clean running water and apply soap. Use warm water if it is available.
- Rub hands together to make a lather and scrub all surfaces.
- Continue rubbing hands for 20 seconds. Need a timer? Imagine singing “Happy Birthday” twice.
- Rinse your hands well under running water.
- Dry your hands using a paper towel or air dryer. If possible, use your paper towel to turn off the faucet.

When using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer:

- Apply product to the palm of one hand.
- Rub hands together.
- Rub the product over all surfaces of hands and fingers until hands are dry.

Want to know more about the MRSA bacteria and how to prevent infection? Visit the Centers for Disease Control web site: www.cdc.gov, then enter “MRSA” in the search box. Your family physician is an excellent source of information about resistant strains of infection, or contact the Grayson County Health Department at (903)465-2878.