'Superbug' is in headlines, but no need to panic

By Rachel Champeau

Given the recent deaths of two students on the East Coast linked to MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), people are rightfully concerned about this “superbug.” Even more so since the CDC has reported that this type of staph infection killed almost 19,000 people in 2005, more than those who died of AIDS.

MRSA originated in the 1960s and has typically been found in health-care settings — generally among patients who have been hospitalized or are in nursing homes. In the last few years, however, a new type of MRSA has emerged in community settings like schools and gyms. The newer strain, called community-associated MRSA, most often manifests itself in healthy individuals as a boil or pimple that can become swollen, red, and painful and has discharge, but rarely leads to fatal outcomes.

It is, however, the older MRSA strain which is associated with increased mortality because it infects chronically ill and elderly patients in hospitals and nursing homes.

Experts maintain there’s no cause for panic since most of the MRSA cases are mild and will clear up by having the infection drained by a doctor and keeping the area clean.

New research efforts will help pinpoint the best antibiotics to use against the more critical MRSA infections.

David A. Talan and Gregory J. Moran, both of the David Geffen School of Medicine and Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, received a $9-million NIH contract to investigate whether older antibiotics such as clindamycin and sulfa drugs might be a first line of defense in treating MRSA skin infections.

“We need more studies to assess which antibiotics are the most effective against MRSA,” said Talan, a professor of medicine and chief of emergency medicine at UCLA and professor of infectious diseases at Olive View–UCLA. “Armed with this information, we can then develop protocols for physicians to follow.”

In the meantime, clinicians should culture serious infections if antibiotics are needed, “and make sure the proper antibiotic is administered to treat MRSA,” said Moran, a clinical professor of medicine in the Department of Emergency Medicine and the Division of Infectious Diseases at Olive View–UCLA.

Since MRSA is usually transmitted by skin-to-skin contact, here are some basic infection-control tips:

Wash hands often with soap and water to keep them clean, or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
Don’t share towels, razors or other personal items.
Avoid contact with other people’s wounds or bandages.
Keep breaks in your skin clean and covered, and watch for signs of infection, such as redness, warmth and swelling.
If you have a skin infection, keep the area covered with a clean, dry bandage until it heals; wash your hands after changing the bandage and put used bandages in the trash.