MRSA, or methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus, has been in the news recently, making it seem like a new illness. However, MRSA has been around for many years. Up until a few years ago, it was found mostly in hospital settings, and was given the name HA (hospital acquired) MRSA. It is much more serious in hospitals, since hospital strains are frequently resistant to all antibiotics except vancomycin. Outside of hospitals it is known as community acquired (CA) MRSA, and although it is resistant to the first line of antibiotics (like Keflex for cellulitis), it has been responsive to a broad list of antibiotics (bactrim, clindamycin, ciprofloxacin and doxycycline), all of which are stocked in the Health Center.
We have had roughly six cases of MRSA in the last three years. All of these cases were lanced and cultured and found to be susceptible to the list of antibiotics above. We have not had a case in nearly a year, perhaps from luck, perhaps from the additional measures we put in place in the athletic center last year. At almost all times, the bacteria is on the skin of many, many students and faculty at Choate (and elsewhere), but is not a problem unless it enters through a cut in the skin AND the bacteria has the opportunity (lack of cleanliness) to grow and colonize AND the person affected isn't able to fight it off by themselves.
The additional measures in the athletic center, where these infections are most apt to start and spread (abrasion, cuts, shared linens and close contact) include education, regular cleaning of not-laundered items like helmets, encouraging daily changes of athletic clothing, anti-bacteria soap in our Winter X laundry, not sharing clothes or towels, covering cuts and abrasions, and showing cuts and abrasions to the sports medicine staff or Health Center. Signs of an infection that should be regularly checked are warmth, redness, swelling and pus. Most skin infections are not MRSA.
The Health Center takes MRSA seriously, but no differently than the many, many infectious diseases that we face daily such as mono, flu, and pneumonia. The press has currently chosen MRSA to replace SARS, West Nile, Avian Flu, and other diseases of the week.
