Community Education MRSA

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Community EducationMRSA
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In the Headlines

• Staph Fatalities May Exceed AIDS Deaths
• - From the Chicago Tribune (October, 2007)

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The Story

• More than 90,000 Americans get potentially
  deadly infections each year from drug-resistant
  staph superbugs, the Government reported in its
  first overall estimate of invasive disease caused
  by the germ.

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The Human Impact

• Ashton Bonds, 17, died after spending more than a
  week in the hospital with the infection known as
  MRSA.

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So what does this really mean?
Staph
Superbugs
MRSA
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Understanding Staphylococcus aureus (staph)

• Staphylococcus aureus, often referred to simply
  as staph," are bacteria commonly carried on the
  skin or in the nose of healthy people. This is
  termed colonized which means that bacteria are
  present, but not causing an infection.
• Approximately 25 to 30 of the entire U.S.
  population is colonized in the nose with this
  staph bacteria.

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Understanding Staphylococcus aureus (staph)

• Sometimes staph can cause an infection.
• Staph bacteria are one of the most common causes
  of skin infections in the United States. Most of
  these skin infections are minor (such as pimples
  and boils) and can be treated without antibiotics
  (also known as antimicrobials or antibacterials).
• However, staph bacteria can also cause serious
  infections such as surgical wound, pneumonia and
  bloodstream infections.

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Understanding MRSA (Methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus)

• MRSA is a type of the staph bacteria sometimes
  called a Superbug that is resistant to certain
  antibiotics. These antibiotics include
  Methicillin and other more common antibiotics
  such as oxacillin, penicillin and amoxicillin.
  This makes MRSA much harder to treat.
• Some good news While 25 to 30 of the U.S.
  population is colonized with staph, only
  approximately 1 is colonized with MRSA.

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Understanding MRSAA Call to Action

• Frequent and Increasing
• Once colonized with MRSA, 30-60 of patients
  become infected at some time.
• MRSA accounts for 2 out of 3 healthcare
  associated Staph infections, compared to 1 out of
  5 only a decade ago.
• Over 126,000 hospitalized persons infected
  annually
• 3.95 MRSA infections per 1,000 hospital
  discharges

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Who gets staph or MRSA infections?

• Staph infections, including MRSA, occur most
  frequently among persons in hospitals and
  healthcare facilities (such as nursing homes and
  dialysis centers) who have weakened immune
  systems.
• The healthcare-associated infections include
  surgical wound infections, urinary tract
  infections, bloodstream infections, and
  pneumonia.

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Serious MRSA Disease

• About 86 of all serious or invasive MRSA
  infections were associated with healthcare.
• Of those, about 2/3 occurred outside of the
  hospital, while about 1/3 occurred during
  hospitalization.
• About 14 of all the infections occurred in
  persons without obvious exposures to healthcare.

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Understanding MRSA More Facts

• MRSA accounts for 69 of all soft tissue
  infections presenting to Emergency Rooms in the
  USA.
• Eradication of MRSA carriage prior to cardiac and
  orthopedic surgery may help to reduce the risk of
  having an MRSA wound infection.

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The Cost in Human Lives

• MRSA can be Deadly
• You are twice as likely to die of a MRSA
  blood-stream infection as you are from a
  sensitive Staph blood-stream infection
• Over 19,000 patients die each year from MRSA
  infections (CDC)

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The Cost in Dollars

• MRSA is very costly
• Annual Treatment of MRSA infections in US
  hospitals - 3.2 -4.2 billion
• On average, each patient with a MRSA infection
  has
• 9.1 days excess hospitalization
• 27,000 - 34,000 excess cost per case
• (CDC statistics)

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Understanding MRSA Other Concerning Issues

• Community-Associated (CA) MRSA
• MRSA infections that are acquired by persons who
  have not been recently (within the past year)
  hospitalized or had a medical procedure (such as
  dialysis, surgery, catheters) are known as
  CA-MRSA infections.
• Staph or MRSA infections in the community are
  usually manifested as skin infections, such as
  pimples and boils, and occur in otherwise healthy
  people.
• Small (0.2) but real (and increasing) prevalence
  

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Understanding MRSA

• Although the healthcare-associated strains
  are virulent enough to cause serious disease,
  there is some evidence the strains arising in the
  community are more virulent than those
  circulating in the healthcare system.
  Furthermore, there is evidence that these new
  strains are spreading from the community into the
  healthcare system.
• - Dr. John A. Jernigan, Chief of Interventions
  and Evaluations at the Centers for Disease
  Control and Prevention (CDC)

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How can I prevent staph or MRSA skin infections?

• Practice good hygiene
• Keep your hands clean by washing thoroughly with
  soap and water or using an alcohol-based hand
  sanitizer. Especially important when visiting
  someone in the hospital or nursing home.
• Keep cuts and scrapes clean and covered with a
  bandage until healed.
• Avoid contact with other peoples wounds or
  bandages.
• Avoid sharing personal items such as towels or
  razors.

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For More information

• www.webmd/news/20071024/mrsa-experts-answers-your-
  questions-104k-
• www.mayoclinic.com/health/mrsa/DS00735-28k
• www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dhqp/ar_mrsa.html-11k-