New MRSA Education Campaign

November 6, 2008 - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has launched a new education campaign on MRSA, a type of staph bacteria that causes skin and other infections and can be potentially dangerous because it is resistant to certain antibiotics.  The campaign intends to help Americans better recognize and prevent MRSA.

It is estimated that Americans visit the doctor more than 12 million times per year to address potential skin infections, many of which are caused by MRSA.  And, although MRSA can affect anyone, children 0-18 years old and African-Americans of all ages are at particular risk.  Therefore, the campaign is placing special emphasis on reaching children’s caregivers and the African-American community. 

The CDC has made available a webpage for the campaign that includes a new suite of materials about MRSA recognition and prevention.  Materials focus on empowering parents, especially mothers – because research shows that women are the main health decision makers in most families – to know the facts about MRSA.  In addition, the campaign highlights the need for partnerships between school health and education professionals to help get MRSA prevention messages out to school administrators and parents. 

The campaign webpage includes a “MRSA in Schools” fact sheet.  The fact sheet shows that schools are among locations that have factors that make it easier for MRSA to be transmitted.  These factors, called the 5 C’s, include: Crowding; frequent skin-to-skin Contact; Compromised skin (i.e., cuts or abrasions); Contaminated items and surfaces; and lack of Cleanliness.

Lately, schools have seen an increase in MRSA infections, therefore, it is imperative that schools know how to prevent such infections.  According to the CDC, prevention of MRSA in schools and other settings includes:  practicing good hygiene; covering skin trauma such as abrasions or cuts with a clean dry bandage until healed; avoiding sharing personal items such as towels or razor; using a barrier between someone’s skin and shared equipment such as weight-training benches; and maintaining a clean environment by establishing cleaning procedures for frequently touched surfaces and surfaces that come into direct contact with people’s skin. 

It is also important that school staff learn to recognize the signs of an MRSA infection and notify parents and caregivers as soon as possible.  Most staph skin infections appear as a bump or infected area on the skin that may be red, swollen, painful, warm to the touch, full of pus or other drainage, and can be accompanied by a fever. 

The campaign’s webpage includes other resources including “MRSA among Athletes” and access to related topics such as “hand hygiene.”

For additional information, please click here.     

Source: National MRSA Education Initiative webpage and “MRSA in Schools” fact sheet, October 2007.