MRSA, MRSA ME
Tuesday, October 30th, 2007 -- 11:46 AM
An antibiotic-resistant bacteria known as MRSA (pronounced mer-SA) is prevalent around the country, including in our area."It's Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. It's an organism that's resistant to the methicillin, so it makes treating it a little more difficult than your run-of-the-mill infection," explains Sarah Trunkel, director of nursing at Memorial Medical Center here in Neillsville.
The government recently released the first federal study to track MRSA, and the findings grabbed people's attention. 18,700 people nationwide died of invasive MRSA in 2005?that's more than died of AIDS.
"The most common method of transmission is contact. Open wounds, it could be gym towels, gym equipment. Breathing the air, sometimes, can do it," Trunkel notes.
Unfortunately, our area isn't immune. Trunkel says they see a "fair amount" of MRSA here. It's especially common in communal settings, such as nursing homes.
MRSA patients require special care?
"When we know somebody has MRSA, we isolate them and we take precautions as far as wearing gowns and gloves," Trunkel explains. "If it's in their respiratory track, we're also going to wear masks."
Hand-washing is the best defense, Trunkel says.
MRSA is especially troubling to health care professionals not only because of its drug-resistant nature, but also because it doesn't seem to affect only the frail, as otherwise healthy young people have succumb as well, Trunkel says.
Symptoms of MRSA include mild infections on the skin can look like pimples, boils or spider bites, while surgical-wound and bloodstream infections can cause fever, fatigue or rash.
[url=http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/mrsa/DS00735]Mayo Clinic's MRSA page[/url]
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