Parents panic over MRSA

The death of a 17-year-old high school student in Virginia from the superbug MRSA has prompted the closure of 21 schools in the state for cleaning and has many parents worried.

Concerned parents have inundated the health department with their concerns but health experts say they have no new staph-related emergency plans.

MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) is a bacteria which is resistant to some antibiotics but not all drugs.

According to a report in the Journal of the American Medical Association MRSA caused 94,000 serious infections and nearly 19,000 deaths in 2005 and most of those were in hospitals.

Last week the Senate passed an amendment that means the Agency for Health Research Quality has $5 million to use to identify and suppress the spread of MRSA.

Health experts say MRSA is a version of an everyday bacteria that causes pimples, boils, sinus infection and, in rare cases, meningitis and blood infections; MRSA is resistant to Methicillin.

Dr. Arjun Srinivasan, an epidemiologist at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says extreme measures to 'disinfect' an environment such as a school really are not the most important procedure in controlling the transmission of MRSA.

Dr. Srinivasan says while it is understandable that people are concerned it must be emphasised that MRSA is a common cause of skin infection and almost all of these infections are readily treated by commonly available antibiotics and by draining the lesions.

Dr. Srinivasan says that hand hygiene is by far the best means to prevent the spread of all diseases.

Experts say the key to dealing with MRSA is early diagnosis and then the completion of a full course of antibiotic treatment.

The public needs to watch for wounds that do not heal and are not helped with normal antibiotic treatment.