Staph grows as global concern

The drug-resistant skin infection known as MRSA that recently killed two students is just a small part of a growing worldwide problem, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told Congress earlier this month.

"The problem is much bigger than what we're addressing today," Julie Gerberding, head of the Atlanta-based CDC, said at a Nov. 7 hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

"We need a vaccine" to fight virulent strains of bacteria such as MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphyl-ococcus aureus, she said.

Gerberding said drug-resistant infections have been around for decades, but typically they were seen only in sick or elderly patients in hospitals and nursing homes. The concern now is that as bacteria continue to evolve and develop resistance to antibiotics, a "community-acquired" strain of staph is turning up with increasing frequency in people outside of medical settings, she said.

Recently, the virulent form of staph killed a 17-year-old student in Virginia and a 12- year-old boy in New York. The CDC says MRSA kills more than 18,000 people each year and causes serious infections in an additional 94,000 - mostly from the type of staph associated with hospitals and other health care settings.

Worried about infections in schools and gyms, some lawmakers are pushing to establish a nationwide reporting system to track community-acquired MRSA.

"We want to understand how to prevent the transmission of drug-resistant staph infections in the community," said Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), the committee's chairman.

In September, Reps. Jim Matheson (DUtah) and Michael Ferguson (R-N.J.) introduced the Strategies to Address Antimicrobial Resistance Act to strengthen federal antimicrobial resistance surveillance, boost prevention and control, ensure more research funding and improve coordination among public health groups.

With no vaccine and few new antibiotics available, Gerberding said the CDC is vigorously pushing prevention messages for schools, gyms, boot camps, prisons, nurseries, tattoo parlors and other places where bodies come into close contact. She urged people to wash their hands thoroughly, keep wounds covered and avoid sharing personal items such as razors and towels.

But she also pointed out that the vast majority of young people who get staph infections are successfully treated. And she said school officials don't need to shut down entire buildings when outbreaks occur, but rather should focus on cleaning equipment where bacteria cluster, using bleach and other germicides.

Gerberding said she views MRSA as "the cockroach of bacteria" in that it is unwanted and lurks in many places but should not cause panic.