[HeartJulz]

School districts in at least six states Thursday reported students infected with MRSA, a super strain of drug-resistant staphylococcus bacteria that is responsible for the deaths of at least three children.

Ashton Bonds, 17, of Bedford, Va., died Monday as a result of the infection. Preschooler Catherine Bentley of Salisbury, N.H., and Shae Kiernan, 11, of Vancleave, Miss., both succumbed to the infection last week, officials said.

In addition, six football players at a North Carolina high school, seven students at three different West Virginia schools and at least two teens in Connecticut were diagnosed with the potentially deadly infection.

School officials in upstate New York, Connecticut and New Hampshire sent letters home to parents informing them of recent cases. Meanwhile, cases have prompted schools in Indiana, Virginia and West Virginia to sanitize facilities, particularly locker rooms and gyms where the germs are most easily spread.

The concern is due to the fact that MRSA doesn't respond to penicillin and other antibiotics. It can be spread by skin-to-skin contact or by sharing an item used by an infected person, particularly one with a cut or abrasion. A number of the cases have involved student athletes.

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Experts: U.S. Deaths From Deadly Drug-Resistant Staph May Surpass AIDS Deaths Staph Infection Kills Virginia Student, Prompts Closing of 21 Schools Confirmed Staph Case in Connecticut School, Possible Second Case Pending Confirmation The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported this week that MRSA infections are a major public health problem and more widespread than previously thought. A government study out this week said more than 90,000 Americans could get the "superbug" each year.

Click here to visit the CDC's MRSA page

This was underscored in a stunning report by CDC researchers published in the Journal of the American Medical Association that says MRSA infections ultimately could kill more people annually than AIDS. The report says the deadly strain killed nearly 19,000 Americans in 2005 and suggests such infections may be twice as common as previously thought, according to its lead author, Dr. R. Monina Klevens.

In recent years, so-called superbug staph infections have been spreading through schools, hospitals, prisons and athletic facilities, CDC officials said.

The bacteria often is carried on the skin and in the noses of healthy people and can be spread by skin-to-skin contact or sharing an item used by an infected person, particularly one with an open wound.

High School Football Team Reports Five Infections (MyFoxTampa)

Two Conn. Students Infected (MyFoxNY)

Six N.C. Football Players Infected (MyFoxWGHP)

D.C. Student, Not Contagious, Back In Class (MyFoxDC)

Dallas Schools Scrub Down (MyFoxDFW)

Arizona Man Talks About His MRSA Struggles (MyFoxPhoenix)

Students, Parents Talk About Football Player's MRSA (MyFoxDetroit)

Staph Infection Victim Talks About Recovery (MyFoxAustin)

Ga. Boy Hospitalized With Staph Infection (MyFoxAtlanta)

"Essentially, what has happened here is that MRSA was, at one time, pretty much confined to patients in hospitals, and these were patients that were seriously ill," said Dr. Pascal James Imperato, the former commissioner of public health for New York City. "Now we know there’s also a community-acquired strain of MRSA. That doesn’t mean that it hasn’t always existed. It’s just that now, we have become knowledgeable about it."

The MRSA strain is believed to have evolved through several biological mechanisms, including the overuse of antibiotics, said Imperato, chairman of the Department of Preventive Medicine and community health director of the Master of Public Health program at SUNY Downstate Medical Center.

All 21 school buildings in Bedford County, Va., were being scrubbed and sanitized Wednesday following the death of Bonds.

The schools, all in Bedford County, were closed after students there launched a protest over unsanitary conditions Monday, using text messages and social networking sites.

The students took Bedford County Schools Superintendent James Blevins on a tour Tuesday of Staunton River High School to show him how unclean it was.

Michael J. Martin, superintendent of schools for SAU 46, which includes Boscawen Elementary, told the Union Leader that once they were advised of Bentley’s illness, the district worked closely with the state department of health to make sure students were not at risk.

"Initially they said there was no reason to be concerned. Then we heard about the report of the death in Virginia, so we contacted the department of health again. They reassured us there was no change," Martin said.

Kiernan, 11, was buried on Monday. The funeral took place in Kiernan’s hometown of Vancleave, a small community in Jackson County, Miss.

In the majority of cases, children are at no higher risk for the infection than the general population, Imperato said. But the bacteria do thrive in locker rooms and gymnasiums, he said.

"This scenario sets up the perfect scenario for the organism to invade the skin," he said. "In this setting, you have sweat and good exposure to skin. With youths who play football or lacrosse, the skin might also be cut or scraped, making the skin more vulnerable."

The best method of prevention is staying clean. Frequent hand-washing is a good way to prevent the spread of MRSA. And youths, as well as adults, who participate in sports or any type of physical fitness program should shower immediately after.

"Good old-fashioned cleanliness serves as the best barrier to these organisms," he said. "Just washing with ordinary soap and water is enough to remove any of the organisms that may have colonized in the skin."

About one-quarter of invasive cases of staff infection involve patients in hospitals and more than half are related to the health care industry, occurring in people who recently had surgery or were on kidney dialysis, according to the CDC study.

Officials still do not know how the infections were spread that killed the three youths. Ashton Bonds played football at one time, which would have required him to use the school’s locker room and athletic facilities, but school officials said he was not playing this year.

[indigo girl]

This is so common now that I think that you can pick almost any state and
find cases.

http://www.wfsb.com/health/14377911/...=hart&psp=news

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,303237,00.html

http://abclocal.go.com/wjrt/story?se...cal&id=5639757

http://www.wyff4.com/news/14377546/detail.html

[traumaqueen75]

I am currently taking Microbiology (Lpn/Rn fast track) We tested cleaning supplies and antibiotics against different bacteria. Staph was not affected by germ-x which mean MRSA wont either. The schools supply list asks us to bring germ-x but I am trying to find some sort of clorox wipe that is ok for kids to use on their hands. By the way the staph was killed by iodine, pinesol, clorox wipes, and bleach. Pinesol proved to be overall best killing all the bacteria including E. coli.

[poohbear6301]

Originally Posted by traumaqueen75

I am currently taking Microbiology (Lpn/Rn fast track) We tested cleaning supplies and antibiotics against different bacteria. Staph was not affected by germ-x which mean MRSA wont either. The schools supply list asks us to bring germ-x but I am trying to find some sort of clorox wipe that is ok for kids to use on their hands. By the way the staph was killed by iodine, pinesol, clorox wipes, and bleach. Pinesol proved to be overall best killing all the bacteria including E. coli.

I care for a woman with a trach/vent. She is colonized MRSA but I have never been bothered with it. Neither has her husband who sometimes doesn't quite use the gloves like he should when suctioning her trach. One of her granddaughters came down with it but upon checking it out, found she aquired her's from a visit to the local ER. I also worked in a local nursing home where we had 10 rooms all said 20 people total, that were isolated from the general population with MRSA.
My two daughters have never had it either. Yet my husband went to Daytona Bike Week in 2006 and came home with it from a motel that didn't properly change the linen's on his bed. Then just when I thought we were done with his treatment for the MRSA, he came home from work one night with it again. My point is that the one thing that was constant throughout this whole thing was after washing our hands well with soap and water, we "wash" our hands with alcohol hand sanitizer. The containers provided to us by DIAL, says right on it the hand sanitizer if used properly, will kill MRSA, pseudomonas, staph maracens, E coli and most fungus infections. Now this company would not be able to advertize this fact if it weren't true. And this is thoe only constant we have...after we do anything in her room, we wash with soap first then with alchol.

[Emmanuel Goldstein]

I still have students whose parents are insisting they be put on antibiotics before cultures are back for draining wounds. Not giant wounds mind you but cuts on knees, arms.

What do they think started all this in the first place?

I'm old enough to remember people routinely going to the doc with colds, flu, and other assorted viral illnesses and receiving penicillin, etc. Add to this all those who won't complete a round of abx (stopping them when they "feel better" and saving it up for the next illness), and our food supply being inundated with antibiotics over the years--- it's all come back to bite us in the butt.

http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/biol_...rugresist.html

I was infected with ESBL e coli resulting from a foley during my surgery. I was treated for over 2 months with Levaquin and various other antibiotics to no avail. I was one sick puppy, until finally a urologist checked the sensitivities on a culture, finding the drug-resistance. I was put on macrobid of all things, and it cleared. By then, I'd developed colitis d/t the months of abx, and ended up with a bowel perf.

Beyond the impact on my patients and the community, I worry about this issue as it affects me personally. After more than two decades of exposure to all these bugs and antibiotics, I'm certain I harbor more than a few resistant strains. In all these years, I've only had one doctor (family practioner/DO) who acknowledged that as a nurse, I'm at a much higher risk for this; I can't remember her exact words, but something to the effect that when we get infected, usual treatments aren't necessarily going to work.

I wonder if there have been any studies on the prevalence of MDROs in healthcare workers, both as those colonized and when actually infected (as compared to the community in general)?

[traumaqueen75]

Originally Posted by poohbear6301

I care for a woman with a trach/vent. She is colonized MRSA but I have never been bothered with it. Neither has her husband who sometimes doesn't quite use the gloves like he should when suctioning her trach. One of her granddaughters came down with it but upon checking it out, found she aquired her's from a visit to the local ER. I also worked in a local nursing home where we had 10 rooms all said 20 people total, that were isolated from the general population with MRSA.
My two daughters have never had it either. Yet my husband went to Daytona Bike Week in 2006 and came home with it from a motel that didn't properly change the linen's on his bed. Then just when I thought we were done with his treatment for the MRSA, he came home from work one night with it again. My point is that the one thing that was constant throughout this whole thing was after washing our hands well with soap and water, we "wash" our hands with alcohol hand sanitizer. The containers provided to us by DIAL, says right on it the hand sanitizer if used properly, will kill MRSA, pseudomonas, staph maracens, E coli and most fungus infections. Now this company would not be able to advertize this fact if it weren't true. And this is thoe only constant we have...after we do anything in her room, we wash with soap first then with alchol.

Yes and on the bottle it says if used properly. Which is to get a small amt rub around and let air dry. The drying of the cells also dries out the bacteria. Maybe thats why it didnt work in the t-streaking. But how many elementary kids you ever see use it PROPERLY. The point is we need some kind of wipes for them to use something that works with out being picky.