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MRSA Infections Highlight ‘Super Bugs’ Problems

Since early fall, a wave of reports about the increased prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections has alarmed public health officials across the country.

In October, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published a study describing the incidence and distribution of invasive MRSA in nine locations in 2005. In those places, the researchers found 5,287 cases and 988 related deaths during the study period. Using those results they estimated that 94,000 U.S. residents nationwide developed invasive MRSA infections in 2005 and that 19,000 of those people died. Most of the infections were health care-associated (58.4 percent), but 26.6 percent were community-onset infections. Higher rates were found among African Americans and the elderly, most likely because of their higher incidence of chronic diseases and subsequent stays in hospitals.

Within days of the JAMA report, scores of schools were closed in Connecticut, Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia so that cleaning crews could disinfect contaminated locker rooms, buses and classrooms. School officials in Mississippi, New Hampshire and Virginia reported student deaths and at least four other states announced cases of students being infected.

Staph is a bacteria commonly found on the skin and in the nose of healthy people. Overuse and misuse of antibiotics have resulted in some staph bacteria developing resistance to the antibiotics most commonly used to treat infections. Until recently, most MRSA outbreaks were confined to hospital settings. However, more and more frequently people are acquiring infections in the community, without any contact with hospitals or health care facilities. Crowded conditions and skin contact, common in schools and particularly frequent during athletic activities, are viewed as the primary cause for the increased prevalence in non-health care settings.

Illinois, New Jersey and Pennsylvania have enacted laws to reduce and prevent hospital-acquired antibiotic-resistant infections. The laws require rigorous enforcement of infection-control practices, expanding surveillance, isolating MRSA-infected patients and improving data collection/reporting on MRSA cases. Illinois mandates that the data be available on the website of the state’s Department of Public Health.

More information about MRSA is available on the AFSCME website at www.afscme.org/issues/73.cfm, then click on the link to “Facts Sheets.”

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