KDHE urges hospital patients, athletes, and other groups to be on
guard for Community-Associated MRSA skin infections

Maybe you have a weakened immune system and are in the hospital for an extended stay or you are a high school football player who scraped your knee training for the upcoming season. Maybe you are a military recruit living in cramped quarters or a prisoner living with other inmates who share towels and razors. What do all of these people have in common? They are all at risk for contracting a skin infection called MRSA.

MRSA stands for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and is a type of staph infection. There are two types of MRSA: hospital-acquired and community associated. In the past, MRSA has usually stricken people with compromised immune systems in healthcare facilities, but in recent years has been increasing in the community in populations without the usual risk factors for hospital-acquired MRSA. There is now a growing concern for acquiring and spreading community-acquired MRSA (CA-MRSA).

Outbreaks have been identified among sports teams, inmates, family members, and other populations that live in close quarters. Factors that are associated with the spread of MRSA include close skin-to-skin contact; cuts and abrasions to the skin; contaminated objects and surfaces like sports equipment; crowded living conditions; and poor hygiene such as sharing towels or drinks and not washing hands often.

"It is important to understand that all people have staph bacteria on their skin and in their nose. Sometimes the staph bacteria can cause a minor infection such as a pimple or boil. However, some strains of staph bacteria can cause very serious infections. MRSA falls into this category," said Dr. Gail Hansen, State Epidemiologist at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE).

MRSA infection may look like a pimple or a boil and be red, swollen, painful, or have pus or other drainage. Very often people report having a spot or lesion on their skin that looks like a spider bite. More serious infections can cause pneumonia, bloodstream infections, bone infections, "flesh-eating" infections, and death.

To prevent contracting CA-MRSA practice good hygiene, including:

• Keep your hands clean by washing with soap and water.
• Keep cuts and scrapes clean, dry, and covered with a bandage until healed.
• Avoid contact with other people's wounds or bandages.
• Avoid sharing personal items such as towels or razors.

If you have an MRSA infection it is important to:

• Cover your wound, change bandages regularly, and wash hands thoroughly after changing the bandage or touching the infected wound.
• Wash your hands frequently with soap and warm water.
• Take a full-body shower each day. 
• Do not share personal items such as towels, washcloths, razors, clothing, uniforms, and sports or protective equipment.
• Wash sheets and towels that become soiled with hot water and laundry detergent. Dry clothes in a hot dryer, rather than air-dry, to help kill bacteria.

"According to 2003 data it is estimated that 12 percent of MRSA infections occur outside of a healthcare facility. MRSA is not a disease that KDHE tracks, but it is certainly a disease that we want the public to know about," said Hansen.

For more information about MRSA, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web site at www.cdc.gov. For more information about KDHE, please visit: www.kdheks.gov.

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