Question About Staph

It sounds as if it is actually called MRSA. Almost like mersa. Here is a link with some info. Hope it helps.
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dhqp/ar_mrsa_ca_public.html

MRCA is contagious. Here are the risks of MRCA, hope this helps....

Risk factors
Because hospital and community strains of MRSA generally occur in different settings, the risk factors for the two strains differ.

Risk factors for hospital-acquired (HA) MRSA include:

A current or recent hospitalization. MRSA remains a concern in hospitals, where it can attack those most vulnerable — older adults and people with weakened immune systems, burns, surgical wounds or serious underlying health problems. A 2007 report from the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology estimates that 1.2 million hospital patients are infected with MRSA each year in the United States. They also estimate another 423,000 are colonized with it.
Residing in a long-term care facility. MRSA is far more prevalent in these facilities than it is in hospitals. Carriers of MRSA have the ability to spread it, even if they're not sick themselves.
Invasive devices. People who are on dialysis, are catheterized, or have feeding tubes or other invasive devices are at higher risk.
Recent antibiotic use. Treatment with fluoroquinolones (ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin or levofloxacin) or cephalosporin antibiotics can increase the risk of HA-MRSA.
These are the main risk factors for community-acquired (CA) MRSA:

Young age. CA-MRSA can be particularly dangerous in children. Often entering the body through a cut or scrape, MRSA can quickly cause a wide spread infection. Children may be susceptible because their immune systems aren't fully developed or they don't yet have antibodies to common germs. Children and young adults are also much more likely to develop dangerous forms of pneumonia than older people are.
Participating in contact sports. CA-MRSA has crept into both amateur and professional sports teams. The bacteria spread easily through cuts and abrasions and skin-to-skin contact.
Sharing towels or athletic equipment. Although few outbreaks have been reported in public gyms, CA-MRSA has spread among athletes sharing razors, towels, uniforms or equipment.
Having a weakened immune system. People with weakened immune systems, including those living with HIV/AIDS, are more likely to have severe CA-MRSA infections.
Living in crowded or unsanitary conditions. Outbreaks of CA-MRSA have occurred in military training camps and in American and European prisons.
Association with health care workers. People who are in close contact with health care workers are at increased risk of serious staph infections.

K.,
I read your email and felt so bad for you. A couple of years ago my son contracted a staph infection while having surgery. By the time we realized our entire family had been exposed as well as my coworkers, neighbors, and probably countless others. I contracted the infection as did two college students that worked for me. Everyone recovered and I learned a lot from the experience, but sometimes staph infections can get very nasty. Don't take any chances. I think you should be worried and phone your pediatrician at the very least.

mersa is very very contagias or how ever you spell it I am in health care and the lady I take care of just had it . And YES use percaution hand washing and alot of it and if any part of body touches the infected person should be disinfected....look it up under ask.com.. HOPE THAT HELPS..

I would take the advice of a couple of the responses. Go to the internet and learn what you can about MRSA. It isn't as harmless as your co-worker made it sound. It used to be unheard of in a community setting, but that is no longer the case. Just type MRSA into a search engine and you'll find lots of info.

Just remember that this is a rumor. Did she admit it is MRSA? If not, it may be something else. We all know how rumors can spread the wrong information.

Good luck!

Hi K.,
I've had experience several times with staph infections. I believe you should be concerned enough to call your baby's Dr. and update him on the info re: the staph infection of a co-worker and find out from your Dr. how highly contagious it is and how and why.

Afew yrs. ago a friend of ours got into our whirpool jacuzzi pool, in our home, when she was infected with staph, and I quickly caught the staph as it was in the water of the jacuzzi. The friend either did not tell us she had staph and/or she did not know it, at the time. And it took me months, several rounds of antibiotics, many Drs. visits and more to get better and to get over the staph, which goes into one's bloodstream. I am extremely highly cautious with being around anyone with staph after that.

Good luck as I'm sure all will be allright with you & your baby after your physician gives you the needed info and recommendations about this problem.

Sincerely,
L. G.

Although MRSA can be a very serious, life threatening infection, you probably don't need to be overly worried. Do you know where her infection is? We all can walk around with staph bacteria on us everyday without it affecting us. If you have an immune compromised person, you need to talk serious precautions. Staph infections are usually on our skin. Make sure you take usual precautions-- washing hands and surfaces that might be touched frequently-- doorknobs, bathrooms, etc. I don't have all the information, but I don't think you need to be worried. She said it wasn't contagious and it probably isn't. She was probably already on an antibiotic that killed it. If it was serious, she would be in the hospital on IV antibiotics.

J.

yes!!!!! you should be very concerned. the name mrsa is short for methyl resistant staphaeorus . forgive my spelling if it is not entirely correct but it's pretty close. this staph infection use to only be found in hospitals and nursing homes, but recently has made it's way to the public. it is normaly very difficult to treat. there are only a very few antibiotics that can take care of it and, they are very hard on the liver and kidneys. this woman should not be around children until she is healed completly!!

Hi, summer of 2006 my son broke out with boils and we were told it was just staph. infection. This summer when he started to break out I took him to doctor and demanded a culture to check for mrsa. They put him on antibiotics and cream. It took over a week to get the resaults back. He did test positive ( a slight growth ) to mrsa. The doctor put him on another dose of antibiotics and I was told to wash all his bedding and clothing. It is contagious and I think only certain antibiotics will get rid of it. We were told to take a shower not a bath and NOT to go swimming. I would read more about it on the internet or ask my doctor. As for the woman this could be very imbarrissing for her and she might not know if it is mrsa, because its suppose to be infection that you can only get from places like hospitals and in the military or something like that so most doctors just give you topical cream. These sores are very red and painful my son couldnt go to school because he couldnt sit down. You really dont know what you have until you go to the doctor and then they are not sure. I hope this helps some. Not many people get mrsa, my son has eczema and seems to pick up skin infections pretty easy.

Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus...rampant in nursing homes and schools everywhere, most people have no idea they carry it. They recently did a study that showed MRSA to be carried frequently in high school athletes.

Most MRSA infections are asymptomatic, meaning there are often no symptoms, and most will clear themselves up. It's a staph bacteria that is resistant to all "cillins", penicillin, methicillin, etc, thusly named. There many types, respiratory, urinary, wound infections, and most are harmless. The geriatric population is most negatively affected, largely due to age and their inability to fight disease, especially with an underlying, difficult to treat staph infection.

Respiratory MRSA is contagious, and most patients who are confirmed to have it in a hospital setting are put in isolation to prevent cross contamination. With the older population (my expereince is largely in geriatrics) this is much more important to do because old people are so sick anyway and already often immuno-compromised.

I really wouldn't worry. I worked around it for a long time and never had a problem catching it or giving it to anyone else, and have many friends who still do. Wash your hands frequently, as it's the best way to prevent the spread of germs, and don't let it worry you!

Hello K.,
Yes it can be contagious, but it is NEVER a bad idea to be cautious. My daughter had Mersa, mainly it was E. coli in her urine that made everyone (save myself) wear protective gear: mask, gloves with frequent handwashing, and gown. Since that ONE incidence, all hospital staff is aware and must keep my daughter in "isolation" with each and every hospital visit, along with her being a multi-organ transplant. So as long as you minimize the amount of time around this woman and do FREQUENT hand washing, everything should be okay for you to be around your own children. And if you are even more concern or paranoid, take a shower once you get home and before you handle your children. Good luck.

I've worked several MRSA outbreaks.

Advice is to make sure the open sore is well covered with clean bandages and that proper handwashing and other hygene protocols are followed.

MRSA is now somewhat common in the community and people can carry it high in their nasal passages and deep in their ear canals as well but it sounds like she's got more of an open wound situation than a nasal or ear carrier situation.

A good place to get answers is here at this link. This should help answer some of your questions.

http://www.in.gov/isdh/healthinfo/mrsa.htm

If it doesn't and you're still concerned call the local health department (although it's not a reportable disease in most cases the fact you're working in a high traffic area may raise some flags) or the epi resource center at the state health department. I can't guarantee much help in the way of reporting the disease or asking her to refrain from close contact with people because it is a non-reportable disease and she may be managing it well, but they may be able to give you more thorough advice on managing the situation.

If she's taking proper care of herself then she's probably not going to be a HIGH risk to others (although the risk is there if the sore is open) but it's still good to keep an eye on the situation.

Good luck!!!