General Information & Emergency Procedures: Staph Infections

IMPORTANT: If you think you may have been exposed to MRSA or that you may have contracted MRSA, please visit University Health & Wellness (James River Hall, 1st floor) immediately.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus ( MRSA )

• Staph is all around us. Staph has been cultured in the nose and on the skin of some people, so we know there are people who are carriers of staph and may never know it as they may never become ill.
• Staph has been detected in the anterior nares, (noses) of 20-30% of the population. This is one of the main reasons that people that use their hands to cover a sneeze or blow their nose or scratch or pick their nose, must wash their hands thoroughly or use Purell even when they are not sick.
• MRSA is reportable, only, when there are 2 or more people are diagnosed with MRSA AND are in or have been in close contact with each other. Therefore, multiple, isolated cases do not constitute an outbreak and are not reported.
• The Health Department's response when an outbreak is reported is primarily advisory. They do not come to the facility and take over.

Mode of transmission:  Contact

• MRSA is transmitted from person to person with the hands being the primary culprits.
• The organism can live for only a short period of time outside the body and only if it has excrement (body fluids) or moisture to support it and preferably in a dark area.  Dark, moist areas are the perfect breading grounds for bacterial growth.
• MRSA dies when on dry surfaces, or when towels, clothing or bandages dry out.

What this means is:

• People who are in close contact with each other such as athletes, room / suitemates, co-workers, family, are at the greatest risk for contracting MRSA.  This means:
  1. ALL open wounds, pimples, etc should be covered with a band aide to reduce the chance of exposing potential MRSA to others AND to prevent MRSA from entering their wound.
  2. Individuals should seek prompt medical attention for a skin lesion / wound / pimple that becomes “angry”…i.e., red, warm, discharges pus or does not heal.
  3. Dark, moist areas that can support MRSA outside the body long enough for exposure to close contacts would include bathrooms, lockers, locker rooms, towels, and clothing with perspiration. 
   

Actions for Confirmed Outbreak:

• Meet with the people who have been diagnosed with MRSA to educate them about their responsibility to protect roommates, fellow athletes, and the community at large from being exposed to MRSA.
• Instruct them to use Universal Precaution in regards to bandages, towels, bathroom surfaces.
• Have students/housekeepers clean appropriate exposed areas with a bleach solution of 1 part bleach to 10 parts water, or other EPA approved MRSA cleaning agents   Protective equipment required: gloves only.
• Institute appropriate OSHA requirements if in a work environment such as food handlers.