Outbreaks of MRSA staph infection are increasing among high school and Jr. high football and hockey teams, as contact sports produce lots of cuts, scrapes, and abrasions.

MRSA staph infection cases seem almost a daily occurance at schools these days. [spin]Why the sudden outbreak of this little known disease|What’s the cause of this increase?

Schools are of special concern because young children lack fully developed immune systems. Children also enjoy lots of close physical contact, trade personal items, and usually don’t think about hygiene.

Places where people come into close physical contact with each other are the likliest places for catching MRSA staph. The number of MRSA staph cases in prisons in California has risen sharply in the past few years.

Areas where physical contact with other people, or with surfaces or materials that an infected person has touched, such as athletic halls, locker rooms, playgrounds, etc., require extra precautions. The CDC has already identified clusters of MRSA staph in such places.

MRSA staph isn’t a new phenomenon, in spite of the recent publicity. It’s been known since at least 1959. It has been a big problem in our hospitals and nursing homes for a several years.

MRSA was a primary or secondary cause in 2003 of nearly 1000 hospital patient deaths in The U.K., and in 2004, it was cited in over 3000 deaths.

In the U.S, although the death toll of MRSA staph hasn’t been as great as in Great Britain, and as such MRSA hasn’t gotten as much exposure, it is still widespread and growing rapidly. One report by the CDC says that at the turn of the century there were close to 125,000 hospitalizations here that involved a new diagnosis of MRSA staph at some time during the stay.

While hospitals and nursing homes are still the riskiest places for MRSA , they are far from the only places where people are at risk. MRSA staph acquired outside of a medical facility is referred to as CA-MRSA , or community associated MRSA . Presently, about one in eight cases of MRSA infection fall into this category, but the numbers are rising.

Washing hands regularly is prescribed as the best way to reduce the spread of MRSA staph. This “skin deep” prescription is good for soothing worried parents, but doesn’t solve the problem.

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