Is the MRSA outbreak an epidemic?

Question

I hear people say its spreading super fast. I also heard people say its not spreading that fast. I mean its been around for years right? Why is the news just bringing it up now?

Oh and also I live in Wisconsin, I was wondering if anyone knows if its here? And whats my risk of contracting it?

Answer 1

Mrsa sadly is everywhere. It has been around since the late 60's but it is spreading quickly in the last few years. There is hospital MRSA that is in hospital, nursing homes, etc. and then there is community MRSA in gyms, locker rooms, schools, pretty much anywhere. Frequent hand washing is key, alcohol based hand sanitizer, and do not pick your nose.

Answer 2

MRSA is spreading throughout many parts of the country, but I would hesitate to say that it has reached the level of an "epidemic".

However, there are more recent cases emerging calling our attention to MRSA outbreaks in schools and hospitals. The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reported that MRSA could cause more deaths in the US than AIDS which seems to be fueling the fires a bit here.

The liklihood of you catching MRSA is relatively low, but maintain personal hygeine and you may want to consider applying a disinfectant such as Vital Oxide to keep free from bacteria.

Answer 3

Your question is important and Stephanie gives you a pretty reliable and scientific explanation. Penicillin "was" the antibiotic of choice for staph. No more. The bug can manage to create resistance and it has. It is nothing new, We've known about staph aureus behavior for years, the scientific community knew or the potential danger and the mode of transmission. Hey, after all we all have staph living with us in harmony. but once the barriers of our immune sistem low their guard (a cut in skin, etc) staph (hopefully not the bad one) can infect. there are other bacteria that can do the same. But to answer your question: No! the flu will probably kill more people that MRSA. What is important is to prevent being exposed in places here MRSA is hanging around the most. Stephanie and the other lady talk about those places. If I have to put in one line an advice to you is: ash hands always, and please, do not replace hand washing for those liquid gels. Think about it: if that liquid gel can kill staph then it will damage your skin. So, "soap and water" is the key and more important, stay away from dirty places mentioned by your other responding people. Live our life and just keep in mind what Lister many years ago said: "see the germs with the eyes of our conscience"

Answer 4

Yes it is everywhere. I gaurentee you it is in every day care and every school and probably people on your street. I have been batteling with this for 10 months. Please learn from me. Take realy good care of your hand keep your cuticles cut, wash every hour or so if you are out in the community, and moisturize. Do not let your hands get dried out and crack. This will sound crazy but you can put 1 cup of bleach in your tub and soak for 10 minutes. This is like swimming with a lot of clorine. Do this when you come home from shopping, gym etc. Again, this will dry out your skin so moisturize so you don't get invisible cracks. Change your clothes and wash them with color safe bleach when you get home. Take vitamins, eat good, and go to the health food store and ask for something to boost your immune system for bacteria. If you do come down with the bug, insist on a culture. A culture will also tell the doctor what antibiotc will work or not. Do not just let them give you one and let them treat it as mrsa. The staff bacteria in mrsa my be resistant to many antibiotics and if t he doctor guesses wrong it can make it harder to cure and this is also why people have relapses and die.

Answer 5

It is currently in the news because it now causes more deaths than AIDS, which is no small task.

The MRSA is not an epidemic, but a health risk to be cautious of.

Answer 6

No, its not. It is spreading but not as much as the news media is hyping it up as. Plus it is spreading mainly in hospitals. I believe like 80% of all the cases, but don't quote me on that.

Answer 7

I work in the healthcare field. MRSA is everywhere and actually everyone has it. It just doesn't really become active unless you are ill. And even not necessarily will you get it. It can be in the nostrils of your nose, it can be in the urine, or a wound. Healthy people don't get it as your immune system is pretty good.

It is in every hospital. Most people do not know unless they are tested. Wash your hands when they feel dirty and everytime you use the bathroom. Wash your hands before you eat. You should not be worried about this becoming an epidemic.

Here is more about it:

Staphylococcus aureus is a bacterium often found in 20-30% of the noses of normal healthy people and is also commonly found on people's skin. Most strains of this bacterium are sensitive to many antibiotics and infections can be effectively treated. Staphylococcus aureus which are resistant to an antibiotic called methicillin are referred to as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or MRSA. Many commonly prescribed antibiotics are not effective against these bacteria. Some MRSA strains occur in epidemics, indicated by an 'E' before MRSA eg EMRSA-16, EMRSA-3 and may be distinguished from others by a number of special laboratory techniques.

Is MRSA dangerous?
MRSA rarely, if ever, presents a danger to the general public. It is no more dangerous or virulent than methicillin-sensitive S. aureus but it is more difficult to treat. This bacterium is usually confined to hospitals and in particular to vulnerable or debilitated patients. These include patients in intensive care units, burns units, surgical and orthopaedic wards. Some nursing homes have experienced problems with this bacterium. MRSA does not pose a risk to the health of hospital staff , unless they are suffering from a debilitating disease, or family members of an affected patient or their close social or work contacts. Therefore the friends or family of such a patient need not take any special precautions and should not be discouraged from normal social contact.

What does MRSA cause?
Most patients from whom MRSA is isolated are colonised with this organism rather than infected. Colonisation means the presence of the organism on the skin, or in the nose, or in the back of the throat but without any illness. However, if the patient also has a fever and inflammation associated with the presence of MRSA then they are considered to be infected. A proportion of patients become infected particularly if they have been put at greater risk, such as following an operation, or have a malignancy, or the presence of a bladder catheter, intravenous infusion or surgical drain. These patients may then develop illnesses similar to those caused by methicillin-sensitive S. aureus such as wound and skin infections, urinary tract infections, pneumonia and bacteraemia or 'blood poisoning'.

How is MRSA treated?
Colonisation with MRSA in the absence of illness or clinical evidence of infection may be treated with surface applied agents. This includes using special antibiotics, eg mupirocin, applied inside the nose, as well as washing, bathing and hair washing with disinfectants eg chlorhexidine. These measures will help reduce the possibility of the patient becoming infected or spreading the bacterium to another patient. Where infection is present, antibiotics commonly used to treat methicillin-sensitive S. aureus such as flucloxacillin, erythromycin and the cephalosporins, are not effective and the patient will require treatment with other antibiotics such as vancomycin or teicoplanin. These last two antibiotics are expensive, may be toxic and have to be given by intravenous infusion. Patients infected with MRSA must therefore be treated in hospital. This is only one of the reasons why considerable effort is made to try and prevent the spread of this organism.

How is spread of MRSA prevented?
Scrupulous handwashing by hospital staff before and after contact with patients and before any procedure, is the single most important infection control measure. It is most likely to prevent spread of MRSA from one patient to another, or from patient to member of staff who may subsequently pass the bacterium on to other patients. Patients with MRSA should be physically isolated in a single room with the door remaining closed and the room regularly damp dusted, or they should be nursed in a special ward away from other non-infected patients. The patient's notes should be clearly labelled 'MRSA' so that this type of accommodation is provided if and when they are admitted to hospital at any time in the future. It is important that the clinician looking after the patient in hospital notifies the general practitioner. If this has not already been done, then the patient or their family should mention to their general practitioner that they are carrying MRSA. This information should also be passed to any hospital to which the patient may be admitted in the future to ensure physical separation or isolation immediately on admission and hence reduce the possibility of spread to others. The use of antibiotics such as those applied inside the nose and bathing procedures previously described, will also help to reduce the risk of spread. Finally, when such a patient is discharged from hospital, their room should be comprehensively cleaned and all linen and other clinical waste disposed of in special bags.

Answer 8

there was a couple people at my school that had it and it got on our local news and everything, i know it can be spread easily and that one in four people are at least carrying it on their skin. just make sure to wash your hands a lot, take showers daily all that stuff