Staph News » Prevention of Staph Infections

Cholesterol Lowering Drug May Render Staph Bacteria Harmless

Staph News Editor — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 16:00:44 +0000

In their efforts to develop new treatments for drug-resistant staph infections, scientists have obtained positive results using a cholesterol lowering drug that never made it to market. Researchers believe that cholesterol reducing compounds known as squalene synthase inhibitors may work on staph infections, including methicillin resistant staph, by rendering the bacteria vulnerable to the body’s natural immune system defenses.

The research supported by the National Institutes of Health revealed that squalene synthase inhibitors act as a sort of Kryptonite to Staphylococcus aureus bacteria by removing their natural defense: staphyloxanthin, a carotenoid pigment that gives staph a golden hue. S. aureus bacteria that lack that pigment have inhibited ability to fight off the human immune response, resulting in decreased virulence.

In studies, the squalene sythase inhibitor BPH-652 interfered with the enzyme responsible for producing the staphyloxanthin pigment. The resulting colorless staph bacteria were significantly weakened. Lab mice injected with S. aureus bacteria that also received BPH-652 exhibited a 98% reduction in bacterial counts.

Researchers are testing hundreds of additional compounds to determine if any are more effective in stripping staph bacteria of their color and virulence. The research is still in a very early stage – too early for human trials – but pigment reduction appears to be a promising area for further investigation.

The complete study results were reported in the article “A Cholesterol Biosynthesis Inhibitor Blocks Staphylococcus aureus Virulence” published in Science Express, the online edition of Science magazine.

National Handwashing Awareness Week

Staph News Editor — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 09:08:18 +0000

December 2 – 8, 2007 is National Handwashing Awareness Week in the United States, and schools across the country are taking the opportunity to remind students that handwashing saves lives. Handwashing is the most important measure individuals can take to prevent the spread of infection and illness, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

Headlines about staph infections, especially the superbug methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), have encouraged families, schools, and healthcare facilities to become increasingly reliant on hand sanitizers. However, such products are no substitute for good old fashioned soap and warm water. The CDC offers the following guidelines for proper handwashing:

Wet your hands with clean running water and apply soap. Use warm water if it is available.
Rub hands together to make a lather and scrub all surfaces.
Continue rubbing hands for 15-20 seconds. Need a timer? Imagine singing “Happy Birthday” twice through to a friend.
Rinse hands well under running water.
Dry your hands using a paper towel or air dryer. If possible, use your paper towel to turn off the faucet.

Alcohol-based hand sanitizers are recommended if soap and water are unavailable. See the CDC handwashing feature article for more tips.

The CDC offers medical professionals and educators posters, brochures, and other publications about hygiene and infection control. Visit the CDC Ounce of Prevention Campaign site for further details.

MRSA Scare Prompts Kentucky County to Close All Schools for Disinfection

Staph News Editor — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 02:30:16 +0000

Following the recent confirmation of at least five staph infections in Kentucky’s Pike County school district, all 23 district schools will be closed for disinfection this Monday. The closing will impact approximately 10,300 students.

Principals will oversee the sanitizing of classrooms, bathrooms, cafeterias, and hallways, as well as school buses, fields, and playgrounds. A private company will handle locker room disinfection and another round of cleanings will take place in early November during previously scheduled school closings.

Similar precautions were taken in Morgan County last Wednesday after a student at Morgan County High School was diagnosed with the dangerous superbug known as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA.

Over 200 students at Pike Central High School staged a sit-in on October 17 in an effort to convince school officials to disinfect the facilities. The students’ suspicions of a MRSA infection at the school was later confirmed.

Pike County Schools Superintendent Roger Wagner emphasized that staph infections are nothing new, and that there is not a MRSA epidemic in the county. The stepped-up cleaning measures are aimed at prevention and helping reassure parents concerned about the confirmed MRSA cases at Pike Central and East Ridge High Schools.

Students Diagnosed With MRSA at Over 20 Illinois Schools

Staph News Editor — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 08:56:50 +0000

Note: Periodic updates will be added to the bottom of this article.
Last updated on November 30, 2007.

Schools in the Chicago area and throughout the state of Illinois have reported cases of drug-resistant staph infections this month. Four American children died from the superbug methicilllin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in October 2007, prompting heightened awareness of the the virulent infection. While state health officials have assured the public that an epidemic is not present in the state, parents and school officials have grown increasingly concerned about the potentially lethal bacteria.

Illinois schools that have students with confirmed or suspected cases of MRSA this month include:

Aurora: Holy Angels Catholic School
Aurora: West Aurora High School
Bellwood: Wilson Elementary School
Bluford: Webber Township High School
Buffalo Grove: Cooper Middle School
Carol Stream: Glenbard North High School
Chicago: Chavez Elementary School
Chicago: Walter Payton Prep High School
Evergreen Park: Northwest Elementary School
Evergreen Park: Southwest Elementary School
Gurnee: Woodland Middle School
Joliet: St. Paul the Apostle School
Lake in the Hills: Martin Elementary School
Lincolnshire: Adlai E. Stevenson High School
Monmouth: Monmouth College
Naperville: Neuqua Valley High School Frontier Campus
North Aurora: Fearn Elementary School
Reddick: Reddick Grade School
Rolling Meadows: John G. Conyers Learning Academy
Schiller Park: John F. Kennedy School
Streamwood: Canton Middle School
Wilmington: Wilmington High School
Woodstock:Woodstock High School

Periodic updates to this list will be added at the bottom of this article.
Some of the schools informed parents of more than one case of MRSA, and many of the school buildings were closed temporarily to undergo thorough disinfection. Although Illinois schools are not required to notify parents if a local student is diagnosed with MRSA, most of the above schools communicated with families about the new superbug cases in a timely manner. Many schools directed families to the Illinois Department of Health’s Basic Hygiene Guidelines for the Prevention of Staphylococcal Infections in Schools.

The state of Illinois is a national leader on MRSA-related legislation. In April 2007, Illinois became the first state in the nation to require hospitals to screen incoming patients for MRSA. However, medical professionals are not required to report individual cases of MRSA to the state, so there are no accurate and comprehensive statistics on the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant staph in Illinois.

The Illinois Department of Public Health may implement the mandatory reporting of MRSA clusters of three or more cases by 2008.

Update, 10/27/07:

Serena: Serena High School (2 MRSA infections)
La Salle: La Salle-Peru Township High School (2 MRSA infections)

Update, 10/28/07:

Tinley Park: Andrew High School

Update, 11/1/07:

Elgin: Hillcrest Elementary School
Geneva: Geneva High School
Joliet: Forest Park Individual Ed School
Lake Villa: Olive Martin School
LaMoille: undisclosed elementary school
Maple Park: Kaneland High School
Naperville: Naperville North High School
West Dundee: Dundee Highlands Elementary

Update, 11/4/07:

Coal City: Coal City Middle School
Coal City: Coal City High School
Merrillville: Pierce Middle School
Riverside: Riverside-Brookfield High School

Update, 11/6/07:

Darien: Hinsdale South High School
Plainfield: Plainfield North High School

Update, 11/9/07:

Chicago: Mark Skinner Elementary School
Lake Villa: JJ Pleviak Elementary School
Sheridan: Sheridan Elementary School

Update, 11/13/07:

Chicago Heights: Marian Catholic High School
North Chicago: South Elementary School
West Chicago: West Chicago High School

Update, 11/15/07:

Palatine: District 211 Academy- North

Update: 11/19/07:

Grayslake: Grayslake Community High School

Update, 11/30/07:

Hoffman Estates: Conant High School
Quincy: Adams County Juvenile Detention Center

Toddler Hospitalized with Severe Staph Infection in Fort Worth, Texas

Staph News Editor — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 00:49:43 +0000

A three-year-old Texas boy has spent the last 10 days at Cook Children’s Medical Center in Forth Worth fighting a virulent strain of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The Associated Press reports that the MRSA infection has infiltrated young Dalton Overton’s bloodstream and is now invading his bones and head. He suffers from eczema, a skin condition that increases vulnerability to the dangerous and hard-to-treat staph infection.

After numerous cases of MRSA were reported throughout the nation this month, officials have focused on preventing the spread of the infection among school-aged children. However, little attention has been given to community-acquired staph infections in infants and toddlers like Dalton Overton.

Health professionals say that even children who are too young to attend school need to practice good hygiene and thorough hand washing, since the MRSA bacteria can be spread by any person-to-person contact. Youths with chronic skin disorders like eczema and psoriasis must be especially vigilant about hand washing and skin and wound care.

Disinfecting Schools May Not Curb the Spread of MRSA

Staph News Editor — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 20:48:39 +0000

Schools across the country have taken steps to disinfect common areas after learning of local staph cases, but sanitizing academic facilities is not likely to help prevent outbreaks of antibiotic-resistant staph, according to Virginia’s state epidemiologist. Dr. Carl Armstong told reporters that although heightened concern about methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is understandable, “emphasis on the environment has been overemphasized.”

“The place where the organism was acquired or where transmission occurred is not necessarily where illness occurs,” Armstrong said. Most cases of MRSA come from person-to-person contact, and thus, good hygiene practices, such as frequent handwashing and keeping wounds clean and covered, are the best defense against contracting MRSA infections.