Posted on November 5, 2007
Cover your mouth and wash your hands. Methicillin-Resistant Staohylococcus aureus, more commonly known as a staph infection, is on the rise.
Staph infections gained attention after Omar Rivera, age 12 of the Brooklyn, NY area, died on Oct. 14, from a staph infection.
JMU students looking for more answers about this bacterium can rest assured that there is plenty of information to be had found within the Harrisonburg area.
Rockingham Memorial Hospital is distributing a booklet with information from the Virginia Department of Health and the John Hopkins Hospital: Hospital Epidemiology and Infection Control Department. The JMU Health Center has a link on jmu.edu/healthctr listing MRSA prevention tips and has sent out e-mails to all campus-residents with additional information.
MRSA is a common type of bacteria is often found in the nose, but can grow in wounds or other sites of the body, according to a booklet released by RMH. Staph infections are resistant to Methicillin, an antibiotic used to treat these infections. Since Methicillin is derived from penicillin, penicillin is also unsuccessful at treating MRSA.
However, different antibiotics can be used to treat MRSA. Three antibiotics are effective at treating simple infections 90 percent of the time, according to the University Health Center’s Medical Director Stephen Rodgers.
In the event of a major infection, the most the Health Center can do is incise after anesthetizing the skin to drain fluid from an abscess, Rodgers said, adding that the Health Center is capable of minor surgeries.
Krista Simmons, an LPN associated with RMH, stated that as every patient is different it is hard to state a general method of treatment.
Symptoms of a staph infection include fever, elevated white blood cell count, pus and inflammation. Pneumonia, urinary tract infections, and cellulite are common illnesses associated with MRSA.
Certain conditions can increase the risk of acquiring MRSA, including a history of using antibiotics, having conditions such as diabetes or skin lesions, spending time in a critical care unit, using IV drugs and being elderly.
As staph infections put people at risk for serious illness, people should be aware of ways to prevent the spread of the infection. Both the University Health Center and RMH recommend washing hands and staying out of contact with those who already have MRSA.
In any practice that works with the same number of students as the University Health Center does, this condition is seen about a dozen times in a three month time period, Rogers said. While the health center has seen a few MRSA cases, there have been no serious ones thus far.
Rodgers advises students who think they may have contracted MRSA to contact the health center and make an appointment.
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