Unsanitary conditions can be found in office buildings, apartments, and residential units across the country. These conditions are found in public areas, but most commonly exist in tenant units. Typically, such conditions produce fire hazards or a pest control issue, but now there is a new danger — MRSA. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that 95,000 people had Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) in 2005.  It was also reported that MRSA claimed approximately 19,000 lives in 2005.  

What is MRSA?

MRSA is a strain of staph bacterium that is resistant to the commonly prescribed antibiotic methicillin. About 1/3 of the population carries some form of the staph bacterium on their skin or in their nose. Usually these staph infections do not have any affect on the carrier. If you carry this bacterium, but are not infected then you are considered “colonized.” Someone may be “colonized” with MRSA and pass it on to others. This is not a problem for healthy adults, but children, elderly, and individuals with a suppressed immune system are more susceptible to contracting and being infected with the staph bacterium. These infections can lead to serious health issues and even death. 

How is MRSA spread?

MRSA is most commonly contracted in a hospital or long-term care facility. This is because of patients’ weakened immune systems, surgical wounds, and invasive devices such as dialysis or catheters. However, about 14% of the 95,000 infected contracted the strain in a community setting.  This is known as community-associated or CA-MRSA.  

The main risks for contracting CA-MRSA are:

• Having a weakened immune system;
• Living in crowded or unsanitary conditions;
• Being of a young age; and
• Participating in a contact sport (wrestling, football, etc.).

MRSA is most commonly spread from person to person through contact with skin, sores, or contaminated items. These items can be used bandages, clothes, towels, or sheets.  

What are the treatments for MRSA?

There are no differences between the symptoms of a normal staph bacterium infection and a MRSA infection. Only a doctor can perform a test to distinguish between the two. If you have large, red painful bumps, blisters filled with fluid also known as impetigo, or a cut that is swollen, warm, and filled with puss, then you should seek medical attention. A more serious case of infection may include fever, lethargy, and a headache. MRSA, if left untreated, can enter the bloodstream and cause pneumonia, toxic shock syndrome, and even death.

Depending on the severity of the infection the doctor may not prescribe any medication. The doctor may lance the boil, which will help prevent the infection from spreading into the bloodstream. You should never attempt to lance a boil yourself. If the infection does not clear in a few days, medication is necessary.  Antibiotics must be used responsibly to help prevent these new strains from developing.

How do you prevent MRSA? 

Pass this information on to your housing authority staff and residents. MRSA can be deadly, but it can easily be prevented if the proper precautions are taken.

• Always wash your hands with the proper technique. You should wash your hands for at least 15 seconds with warm water. Use a disposable towel to completely dry your hands and a second disposable towel to turn off the faucet;
• Avoid sharing personal items such as towels, sheets, razors, clothing, and athletic equipment;
• Keep wounds covered with clean bandages and properly dispose of used bandages. Always properly wash your hands before and after changing bandages;
• Shower after participating in physical activities;
• Sanitize linens by washing them with hot water and drying them in a hot dryer;
• Get tested. If you have an infection that requires treatment, ask your doctor to test for MRSA so that the proper action can be taken as soon as possible; and
• Properly use your antibiotics. If antibiotics are prescribed, finish the entire prescription. Do not share or save unfinished antibiotics for a different time.

What can be done to prevent MRSA at my housing authority?

• Include a housekeeping inspection whenever maintenance enters an occupied unit. If the unit is not up to the housing authority’s standards, issue a warning and inspect again at a later date;
• Have all maintenance employees participate in ongoing assessment and training activities to learn the appropriate disinfection practices at the facility;
• Require gloves to be worn when cleaning in the facility;
• All hard surfaces, floors, door handles, light switches, handrails, tables, desks, and drinking fountains should be routinely cleaned;
• Clean any potentially contaminated surfaces with a disinfectant or bleach/water solution. The solution should be approximately ¼ cup of household chlorine bleach to one gallon of water;
• Make a fresh bleach solution every time you clean because over time the bleach can evaporate from the water, making the solution ineffective; and
• Ensure that restrooms, locker rooms, and athletic areas have separate cleaning mops and buckets. Also, make sure that the mops and buckets are cleaned regularly. 

MRSA may seem like a “super-bug,” but if you spread the knowledge and prevention techniques highlighted in this article to your staff and residents you will greatly reduce the chances of a MRSA outbreak at your PHA.