The latest staph outbreak seems tailor-made for the local news. It’s the superbug, resistant to most drugs. It killed more people than AIDS in 2005. It’s getting harder to stop. And it’s in our nation’s schools. Sentences like that should be followed only with “That and more, later in the broadcast. Now here’s Chet with the weather.”
Unfortunately, the staph outbreak isn’t just some overblown phenomenon designed to boost ratings during sweeps. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections are on the rise and deadlier than ever. Schools across the country, including some in the Chicago area, have reported cases and shut down for a thorough cleaning to get rid of the bacteria. In the midst of the outbreak came more research on MRSA from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about how deadly the bacteria can be. According to that report, 19,000 people died from MRSA infections in 2005. That’s out of only 94,000 infections.
MRSA is particularly frightening because it has become immune to some drugs. Anyone who has seen Twelve Monkeys or another sci-fi movie that has to do with a killer virus understands that diseases can evolve to grow resistant to drugs through natural selection. That’s why we always need new flu shots. This has supposedly resulted from people not taking their full dose of antibiotics, but it might also have to do with your soap. The wide use of antibacterial hand soaps means that more microbes are being exposed to the drugs, making them stronger. Not only are they growing tougher, but new research also shows that they can undermine the body’s defenses by blowing up germ-fighting cells. That ought to make you think twice before busting that hand soap out of your purse after dinner.
Even though it’s freaky to think that a staph infection could be making your cells explode, it’s still not deadly in most cases. MRSA enters the body through cuts and scrapes and, after a few days, shows itself through small bumps or pimples. However, if the infection reaches into the body and hits the bloodstream or internal organs, it can become deadly.
One high school student in Virginia has already died from MRSA, the most notable infection in an outbreak that is sweeping through schools across the nation. It has struck schools in Chicago, Ohio, Virginia and New York among other places. The bacteria are spread through skin contact, and since it can enter through open wounds, locker rooms can become breeding grounds. When one infection is reported, there are potentially more in the school, meaning administrators have to clean and disinfect every surface in the school. That’s a lot of Lysol.
Outbreaks of staph infections in schools have gotten so bad that the issue has reached Washington D.C. Illinois senator Dick Durbin introduced legislation last week that would increase public education about staph, improve infection control and require all hospitals to declare instances of infections. It shouldn’t be too contentious a bill, but the fact that staph is being debated in Congress certainly says a lot about how terrible the outbreaks have become. (An interesting note: Even though the bill should pass without trouble, Durbin still must have misspoken when he said, “When it comes to health issues, there are no party lines.” There’s plenty of evidence to the contrary.)
So far the infections have mostly been confined to high schools, but that doesn’t mean colleges are safe. Any place where people, especially people who care about things other than sterilization, share resources, there’s the potential for staph to spread. That means dorms, locker rooms and even apartments could be just as dangerous as those high schools if one person gets staph. There haven’t been any reported cases at Northwestern, but that doesn’t mean there couldn’t be any unreported cases.
So what to do about staph? If you’re suspicious about a skin infection, just head to Searle Hall and get it checked out. Chances are you can catch and stop the infection before it gets into your bloodstream. Preventing staph is easy. Forget what you learned in kindergarten: Don’t share stuff that has come in close contact with your skin, such as razors, towels and soap. Wash all cuts with alcohol and always wash your hands (okay, I guess kindergarten got something right).