It's been called the "Super Bug" and the "Super Germ," but for nearly 20,000 people last year it was called a death sentence.
The bacteria that causes "multiple resistant staphylococcus aureus" (MRSA) is present everywhere, but when it invades and settles into open wounds and sores it can be resistant to many common antibiotics.
Recently four students in North Fulton schools acquired a form of MRSA, and school officials are now issuing guidelines for school hygiene, particularly for athletes.
Susan Hale, a spokesperson for the Fulton County School System, said all four students recovered completely and are back in school.
According to the the Centers for Disease Control, MRSA is responsible for 94,000 serious infections and nearly 19,000 deaths per year in the United States. These numbers would make MRSA responsible for more deaths each year than AIDS.
Nearly all of the deaths occurred in health care settings, such as hospitals and nursing homes, and it is debatable whether MRSA actually casued those deaths, or just attributed to them.
But what is not debatable is the danger the germs pose if left untreated.
Cases of MRSA were reported at Centennial and Milton high schools, Taylor Road Middle School and Dolvin Elementary. Hale noted parents are not required to report incidents of staph infections to school personnel, so it is not known how many cases of MRSA occur each year.
Classrooms were scrubbed at Centennial High School because of the location of the infection on the student, but actions were deemed unnecessary at the other three schools, said Hale.
"After investigation, there is nothing to suggest the students picked up the MRSA bacteria at the school," said Hale. "The incidents were isolated, and we did not identify the need to scrub down the school."
MRSA was first identified in the 1960s and was generally found only in hospital settings. It is spread primarily through lack of basic hygiene, such as washing hands and equipment.
A newer version of the same infection surfaced recently and is now referred to as "community acquired" MRSA (CA-MRSA). It occurs mainly among athletes and can cause infections in young people with no association to a health care environment.
Death from CA-MRSA is very rare, but just last month a 17-year-old student in Virginia died from complications of the infection.
Affects of CA-MRSA can range from minor skin infections to a flesh-eating pneumonia that can destroy healthy organs in less than 24 hours.
Children who contract CA-MRSA generally fall into two groups, say medical officials. One group are those who have compromised skin disorders, such as eczema, which allows the organism to easily penetrate the skin, and the second are athletes who share equipment and tight spaces such as locker rooms.
Of the four recent cases of CA-MRSA in Fulton schools, only one student was an athlete involved in a team sport.
Sports participation guidelines
Fulton County high schools will soon be following new guidelines regarding sports participation to mitigate the chances of an MRSA outbreak. Athletes are deemed to be the most vulnerable class of students to the bacteria because of shared equipment and close contact.
"We've been working on this for a while now and will be introducing it to the high school principals next week at our monthly principals meeting. The timing is coincidental with what is happening in the news, but at least it adds extra awareness to the effort," said Hale.
Hale noted the guidelines were developed based on Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Fulton County Health Department recommendations.
Labels: Fulton County, Infections, School
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Brian Vanderhoff @ 1:43 PM
