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What is MRSA?

What is MRSA?

MRSA stands for “ methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.”

MRSA is a kind of Staphylococcus aureus (“staph”) bacteria, that is resistant to some kinds of antibiotics. It is resistant to a family of antibiotics related to penicillin that includes antibiotics called methicillin and oxacillin, and is often resistant to many other antibiotics as well.

Pronunciation: MRSA is sometimes said as a single word, “mersa,” or by saying all four letters, “M-R-S-A.” Either way is correct.

MRSA is a bacterium that is resistant to some kinds of treatment.

To understand MRSA it is helpful to learn about Staphylococcus aureus (“staph”) bacteria, because MRSA is a kind of staph.

Estafilococo Dorado Resistente a la Meticilina

Estafilococo Dorado Resistente a la Meticilina (EDRM)

¿Qué es el EDRM (MRSA, en inglés)?

El EDRM se refiere a un tipo de bacteria (estafilococo dorado) que es resistente a muchos antibióticos. Es una causa común de infecciones hospitalarias.

¿Quiénes contraen el EDRM?

Cualquier persona puede contraer el EDRM, aunque se presenta con mayor frecuencia en pacientes hospitalizados.

¿Cuáles son los síntomas asociados a la infección del EDRM?

Las infecciones por EDRM pueden producir una amplia variedad de síntomas, dependiendo de la parte del cuerpo infectada. Se pueden presentar en heridas quirúrgicas, quemaduras, puntos de colocación de catéter, ojos, piel y sangre. La infección generalmente causa enrojecimiento, inflamación y dolor en el lugar de la infección. Ocasionalmente, las personas pueden ser portadoras del EDRM sin presentar síntomas.

¿Cómo se contagia?

Las bacterias del estafilococo se contagian normalmente a través del contacto directo con las manos de un trabajador de la salud o de un paciente infectado o que sea portador del organismo.

¿Cuánto tiempo puede una persona infectada ser portadora del EDRM?

Algunas personas son portadoras del EDRM durante un período de días a varios meses, inclusive después de que su infección haya recibido tratamiento.

¿Cómo se diagnostican las infecciones por EDRM?

Las infecciones por EDRM pueden ser diagnosticadas cuando el médico obtiene una muestra o espécimen del lugar de la infección y la manda a un laboratorio. El laboratorio coloca el espécimen sobre una placa especial de “cultivo ” que contiene sustancias nutritivas, incuba la placa en un calentador y luego identifica la bacteria. Como paso final, el laboratorio realiza pruebas utilizando varios antibióticos para determinar si las bacterias son resistentes (capaces de tolerar o soportar) o sensibles (susceptibles de muerte) a ciertos antibióticos.

¿Cuál es el tratamiento para el EDRM?

Aunque el EDRM no puede ser tratado de manera eficaz con antibióticos tales como la meticilina, la nafcilina, la cefalosporina o la penicilina, generalmente se puede tratar con un antibiótico llamado vancomicina. Sin embargo, algunas variedades del estafilococo dorado recientemente han desarrollado algún grado de resistencia a la vancomicina. Las variedades resistentes a la vancomicina pueden ser más difíciles de tratar. Se encuentran en desarrollo nuevos antibióticos para resolver el problema.

¿Cómo se puede prevenir el contagio con EDRM?

La manera más eficaz de controlar el contagio con EDRM es lavarse bien las manos. Los trabajadores de la salud deben lavarse las manos después del contacto con cada paciente. Si se sabe que el paciente tiene una infección por EDRM, el trabajador de la salud debe utilizar guantes desechables. Dependiendo del tipo de contacto, también debe vestir una bata hospitalaria. Los pacientes también deben lavarse las manos para evitar el contagio de las bacterias a los demás.

¿Y el contacto con portadores?

Si se toman precauciones de higiene básicas, los portadores del EDRM no presentan ningún peligro para las demás personas, incluyendo su familia y amigos.

Hand Hygiene

Wash Your Hands!

Hand hygiene is a term used to cover both hand washing using soap and water, and cleaning hands with waterless or alcohol-based hand sanitizers.

Why Hand Hygiene is Important and When to Wash Your Hands
Five common ways germs are spread:

• Nose, mouth, or eyes to hands to others:
  Germs can spread to the hands by sneezing, coughing, or rubbing the eyes and then can be transferred to other family members or friends. Simply washing your hands can help prevent such illnesses as the common cold or eye infections.
• Hands to food:
  Usually germs are transmitted from unclean hands to food by an infected food preparer who didn’t wash his or her hands after using the toilet. The germs are then passed to those who eat the food. This is easily prevented by always washing your hands after using the toilet and before preparing food items.
• Food to hands to food:
  Germs are transmitted from raw foods, such as chicken, to hands while preparing a meal. The germs on the hands are then transferred to other uncooked foods, such as salad. Cooking the raw food kills the initial germs, but the salad remains contaminated.
• Infected child to hands to other children:
  Germs are passed from a child with diarrhea to the hands of the parent during diaper changing. If the parent doesn’t immediately wash his or her hands, the germs that cause diarrhea are then passed to others.
• Animals to people:
  Wash your hands after petting animals or touching any surfaces they come into contact with.

Washing Hands with Soap and Water

The three components needed are :

1. Soap
2. Warm water
3. Friction

Technique:

• Six steps:
  1.   Wet hands with warm, running water.
  2.   Add soap.
  3.   Rub hands vigorously for 20 seconds.
     1.   Backs of hands
     2.   Wrists
     3.   Between fingers
     4.   Tips of fingers
     5.   Thumbs under fingernails—nailbrush is best
     •   Backs of hands
     •   Wrists
     •   Between fingers
     •   Tips of fingers
     •   Thumbs under fingernails—nailbrush is best

  Wash all surfaces including:

  4.   Rinse.
     •   Keep fingers pointing down
  5.   Dry vigorously with paper or clean cloth towel.
  6.   Turn off faucet with towel and open door with towel.

How it works:

• The soap suspends the dirt and soils.
• The friction motion helps pull dirt and greasy or oily soils free from the skin.
• Warm running water washes away suspended dirt and soils that trap germs.
• Final friction of wiping hands removes more germs.

Cleaning Hands with Hand Sanitizer

The two components needed for waterless cleaning are:

1. Waterless hand sanitizer
2. Friction

Technique:

Four steps:

• Make sure all organic matter is removed from hands.
  All visible organic matter (for example: dirt) must be removed from hands prior to applying waterless hand sanitizer.
• Apply a dime sized amount of waterless hand sanitizer to the palm of one hand or use a waterless hand sanitizer wipe.
• Rub hands together covering all surfaces of hands and fingers.
• Rub until waterless hand sanitizer is absorbed.

How it works:

Waterless hand sanitizer provides several advantages over hand washing with soap and water. However, they are not effective if organic matter (dirt, food, or other material) is visible on hands.

Benefits of waterless hand sanitizer:

• require less time than hand washing
• act quickly to kill microorganisms on hands
• are more accessible than sinks
• reduce bacterial counts on hands
• do not promote antimicrobial resistance
• are less irritating to skin than soap and water
• some can even improve condition of skin

The number one and most important thing anyone can do is

WASH YOUR HANDS WELL!

MRSA and Athletics

An increasing number of outbreaks of skin infections on sports teams caused by Staphylococcus aureus (“staph”) bacteria that are resistant to many antibiotics have been reported. These resistant strains of staph are known as “MRSA” (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus).
What is a staph skin infection?

Staph bacteria are often found in the noses and on the skin of people. Most of the time staph carried in the nose or on the skin does not cause infection and when it does, it usually causes minor infections, such as boils or abscesses. However, sometimes staph can cause more serious infections such as pneumonia, joint, and bloodstream infections. Staph infections often begin when staph bacteria enter the body through an injury to the skin. Symptoms of a staph skin infection include redness, warmth, swelling, tenderness of the skin, and boils or blisters.
How do staph skin infections spread?

The cleanest person can get a staph infection. Staph can rub off the skin of an infected person and onto the skin of another person when they have skin-to-skin contact. Staph from an infected person can also get onto a commonly shared item or surface, and then get onto the skin of the person who touches it next. Examples of commonly shared items are towels, benches in saunas or hot tubs, and athletic equipment – in other words, anything that could have touched the skin of a staph infected person can carry the bacteria to the skin of another person.
What can be done to prevent infection among athletes?

Athletes should clean their hands and skin often. They should a void skin-to-skin contact with anyone suspected of having a staph skin infection. Athletes should not share personal items (e.g., razors, towels, etc.) with other persons and should k eep towels and clothes clean. Items that are shared with other people (e.g., towels, razors, athletic equipment) should be cleaned before reuse by another person.

What should I do if I think I an athlete has a skin infection?

If you suspect that an athlete might have a staph skin infection, have them consult their healthcare provider as soon as possible. Early treatment can help prevent the infection from getting worse. The athlete should be sure to follow all the directions the healthcare provider gives, including taking all of the doses of any prescribed antibiotic.

If an athlete is diagnosed with an MRSA skin infection what should be done?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have developed the following recommendations for controlling MRSA outbreaks on sports teams:

1. Cover all wounds. If a wound cannot be covered adequately, consider excluding players with potentially infectious skin lesions from practice or competitions until the lesions are healed or can be covered adequately.

2. Encourage good hygiene, including showering and washing with soap after all practices and competitions.

3. Ensure availability of adequate soap and hot water.

4. Discourage sharing of towels and personal items (e.g., clothing or equipment)

5. Establish a routine cleaning schedule for all shared equipment.

6. Train athletes and coaches in first aid for wounds and recognition of wounds that are possibly infected.

7. Encourage athletes to report skin lesions to coaches and encourage coaches to assess athletes regularly for skin lesions.

Standard Precautions You Can Take

1) Hand Hygiene

Perform hand hygiene after touching blood, body fluids, secretions, excretions, and contaminated items, whether or not gloves are worn. Perform hand hygiene immediately after gloves are removed, between patient contacts, and when otherwise indicated to avoid transfer of microorganisms to other patients or environments. When hands are visibly soiled with blood or other body fluids, wash hands with soap and water. It may be necessary to perform hand hygiene between tasks and procedures on the same patient to prevent cross-contamination of different body sites.

2) Gloving

Wear gloves (clean nonsterile gloves are adequate) when it can be reasonably anticipated that contact with blood or other potentially infectious materials, mucous membranes, nonintact skin, or potentially contaminated intact skin (e.g., of a patient incontinent of stool or urine) could occur. Remove gloves after contact with a patient and/or the surrounding environment (including medical equipment) using proper technique to prevent hand contamination. Do not wear the same pair of gloves for the care of more than one patient. Do not wash gloves for the purpose of reuse since this practice has been associated with transmission of pathogens.

3) Mouth, nose, eye protection

Use PPE to protect the mucous membranes of the eyes, nose and mouth during procedures and patient-care activities that are likely to generate splashes or sprays of blood, body fluids, secretions and excretions. Select masks, goggles, face shields, and combinations of each according to the need anticipated by the task performed.

4) Gowning

Wear a gown, that is appropriate to the task, to protect skin and prevent soiling or contamination of clothing during procedures and patient-care activities when contact with blood, body fluids, secretions, or excretions is anticipated.

5) Appropriate device handling of patient care equipment and instruments/devices

Handle used patient-care equipment soiled with blood, body fluids, secretions, and excretions in a manner that prevents skin and mucous membrane exposures, contamination of clothing, and transfer of microorganisms to other patients and environments. Ensure that reusable equipment is not used for the care of another patient until it has been appropriately cleaned and reprocessed and that single-use items are properly discarded. Clean and disinfect surfaces that are likely to be contaminated with pathogens, including those that are in close proximity to the patient (e.g., bed rails, over bed tables) and frequently-touched surfaces in the patient care environment (e.g., door knobs, surfaces in and surrounding toilets in patients’ rooms) on a more frequent schedule compared to that for other surfaces (e.g., horizontal surfaces in waiting rooms).

6) Appropriate handling of laundry

Handle, transport, and process used linen to avoid contamination of air, surfaces and persons.

Preventing MRSA From Infecting Your Child

(ARA) – It’s been five decades in the making and it’s spreading faster than experts thought. With sports stars, celebrities and school children alike becoming infected, MRSA (methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus), which was nearly unheard of two year ago, is becoming a common term.

Today the superbug that was created by 50 years of over-prescribing antibiotics is showing up in every community. So far, the hardest hit are children that are active and play sports.

Whether an injury from playing freshman football or a scrape from playing hopscotch, MRSA can enter the system through skin wounds in children of any age. Causing additional concern is the fact that traditional triple-antibiotic ointments, that fill store shelves and have been used on children for years to prevent infection, don’t kill this aggressive and highly antibiotic-resistant strain of staph bacteria. StaphAseptic, a widely available over-the-counter ointment, is the only product of its kind that’s been proven to prevent infections from this type of bacteria.

A recent study by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) showed that MRSA is significantly more widespread and established than previously thought. The study also found that as many as 119,000 patients each year may die from MRSA. A previous study by the Centers for Disease Control said that approximately 60 percent of infections seen in hospital emergency rooms are MRSA related.

“It should be automatic that parents take immediate preventive actions because of the problems we are seeing with MRSA,” says Dr. Mark Christensen, a Utah pharmacist. “We have great fears that community acquired MRSA staph infections will increase dramatically–because of what we’ve seen in the hospitals. Prevention is certainly the key to protecting children from a MRSA infection.”

Five Steps for Prevention

1) Wash hands thoroughly. Make sure to have children wash hands for at least 15 seconds with soap and warm water. Fifteen seconds is about how long it takes to recite the alphabet.

2) Treat and cover wounds. Cuts, scrapes and burns are the most common ways that MRSA enters the body to start an infection. StaphAseptic, from Tec Laboratories, is a widely available over-the-counter wound-care treatment that is applied to minor wounds before a bandage is applied. StaphAseptic gets to the root of the problem by killing MRSA before the infection starts.

3) Don’t share personal items. Children should not share items like combs, bar soap or tweezers. With summer upon us and a lot of kids heading to swimming pools, they should be reminded not to share towels.

4) Shower after physical activity. MRSA thrives on moist, warm skin. The human body, after strenuous activity, is a breeding ground for the spread of MRSA and other bacteria. Try using a shower gel instead of bar soap, which can carry the bacteria.

5) Seek medical attention for active wounds. If an infection sets in it is vital to get to a doctor immediately. MRSA can spread within hours and eventually cause pneumonia and even death. MRSA-related infections can resemble a pimple or boil and can spread quickly over the body.

MRSA information is available at www.mrsaHelp.com. A complimentary pamphlet on MRSA prevention is available by calling (800) 482-4464 and pressing “0.”

Courtesy of ARAcontent

Copyright © 2008 MRSA Diagnosis

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