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MRSA Cases in Alaska Increase Part IThe Alaska Dept. of Health and Social Services doesn’t consider MRSA a reportable condition, which makes tracking its prevalence a challenge.Related Content
On the heels of the discovery of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus, or MRSA, the drug-resistant Staph infection in the neonatal intensive care unit of Providence, new questions are being raised about the state's tracking of the sometimes fatal infections.
“It is a bacteria that is resistant to a group of antibiotic,” said Medical Epidemiologist Dr. Beth Funk of the State of Alaska Department of Health & Social Services. That resistance is what can make MRSA infections so dangerous. In the past, most MRSA infections happened in hospitals and other health care institutions and the most recent cases of MRSA in Alaska were found on the skin of infants in the Providence NICU in April 2011. “We are segregating the babies that we know have it. Even though they are not sick from the babies that we know don’t have it right now,” said Dr. Lily Lou, neonatologist and director of the Providence NICU. “It's just on their skin.” MRSA found on the skin does not necessarily make a person sick. What does make a person sick is if MRSA makes its way into the bloodstream. “In the hospital setting, if a person is colonized or even has it in their bloodstream or related to a catheter they have, it could be that the health care worker is taking care of that patient and gets it on their hands or even maybe clothing,” explained Dr. Funk. “Then if they don’t clean their hands really well and then they go to take care of another patient, they can transfer it from patient to patient.” Because most MRSA cases were happening in health care settings, the state did not track them. The mentality was that public health was not needed because the facilities had their own infection control. But now all of that is changing. According to the Centers for Disease Control, national numbers show fatal cases of MRSA originating in hospitals are declining. While the State Department of Health does not track it, a 2009 report based on local hospital discharge data, which includes about 85 percent of everyone hospitalized from 2001 to 2006 shows that people sickened by MRSA is on the rise. The report refers to "statistically significant" increases with suspected MRSA cases rising about 30 percent. Community-contracted MRSA is also now on the rise. “They seem to be two different kinds of problems and maybe even different kinds of germs,” says Dr. Funk. “They are different kinds of MRSA strains.” In August 2000, there was an outbreak of MRSA in southwest Alaska among people with no history of hospital exposure. After an investigation, the cases were traced back to steam baths in communities. According to a Providence spokesperson, the state studies that show MRSA is on the rise do not provide a real picture of what is happening because there is no requirement to report all MRSA infections. Now the state is considering requiring hospitals and other health care institutions report any MRSA infections to get a better idea of what is happening. “It is something we are discussing here at this point, and one of the first things we might consider would be reporting health care-associated invasive MRSA infection,” said Dr. Funk, “But that takes some time to do." In order to track MRSA, health care regulations must be changed and followed by a public comment period that could take years. |
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Ms Citizen said on Sunday, Aug 14 at 5:09 PM
Because baylor had suggested NOT treating abscessed teeth with antibiotics, abscess disease organisms spread to otherv parts of the body. People will lose more teeth, and who knows what esle. Abscesses can kill people. Left untreated they do become more invasive and spread.I have yet to meet other practiciioners who support this idea except for a dental student also going to Baylo.But I do know That no Physician I have met supports leaving ANY ABSCESS UNTREATED>. Imagine getting spit on your hand, touching the world afterwards. It is something we need to follow up with.
72343041Miss Citizen said on Sunday, Aug 14 at 4:55 PM
I really can't type can I? Anyway ,one patient I saw there ,and there have been so many others but this is the worst case....was from China and had not had his teeth cleaned in 5 years. ...he said... There was a rash that ran down fron his hair across his face.... His teeth weren't in bad shapoe but he had terrible perio disease and as I used the ultra sonic scaler I was appalled at the amount of pus coming from between his gums and his teeth.A veteran of 44 years in Dentistry I have seen it all...but this is the one that made me realize that maybe what we have been treating as perio---without doing any kind of test for bacteria ---is really msra and no one has been smart enough to follow up or ask the right questions to link this. I lost my job shortly after that...this dentist wouls say something in Korean each time he would come into the room and the patients would always look at me embarrassed so I know he was making fun of me ,a white American. But There's more....
72342634Ms CITIZEN said on Sunday, Aug 14 at 4:48 PM
I would like to bring forward an idea to you all which you may not have ever considered. I had been working with a Korean Dentist whose Techniques and philosophies were at best ,suspect, in todays Modern USA, culture and teachings. Telling me things that were so off from standards I have known for 30 years, I lost all respect for his Dentistry, especially in light of the fact he would misrepresent this information to his patients so they would lose their tooth or teet and the he would pull it, do a bone graft and the an impnat too the tune of about $5-7000. dollars. One of the things that bothered me the most is that he would misrepresent this to his fellow Koreans the most, the ones with language difficulties. As I was here his practice was dwindling, and I believe a few people thought enoough to go to other Dentists.
72342452Dr. Megan Clancy said on Thursday, May 5 at 7:16 PM
Because the presence of MRSA in the community is on the rise, you can also support these precautions below and limit the spread of MRSA and other bacteria. Clean your hands often with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Avoid sharing personal items such as towels or razors. Wash and dry your clothes and linens in the warmest temperatures recommended on the labels. For more information visit: www.cdc.gov/mrsa. -- Megan Clancy, MD, medical director, Infection Control, Providence Alaska Medical Center.
66562689Megan Clancy, MD said on Thursday, May 5 at 7:16 PM
We take infection control very seriously and follow recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. In our ongoing efforts to reduce transmission in health care settings, we follow precautions throughout the hospital:• All health care employees are required to carefully clean their hands before and after patient contact.• Hospitals rooms and medical equipment are cleaned before and after patient use. • Special precautions are used when caring for a patient with MRSA, such as additional routine cleaning in patient areas and wearing protective gowns and gloves when treating patients. It’s precautions such as these that have decreased MRSA rates both at our facility and at hospitals across the country. For more information visit: www.cdc.gov/mrsa. -- Megan Clancy, MD, medical director, Infection Control, Providence Alaska Medical Center.
66562662everlaskan said on Tuesday, May 3 at 6:06 PM
MRSA is deadlier then we know. Look at HIV, and Ebola. Thought it couldn't be us....not that bad...but it IS us, and it CAN get worse. I saw it first hand, which I can't talk about. But if you ever get it,,,,you most likely won't get rid of it. It's flesh-eating
66374027aaaaa said on Tuesday, May 3 at 11:12 AM
not reportable?! if someone from CITY HALL caught mrsa, (not wishing it for them btw!) u bet your butt they'd (ak hhs) take it more seriously! i'm a lunchtime helper at bean's cafe since 2007 and very blessed to never come home with anything worse than a cold, or indigestion *not* food poisoning. however if mrsa was found at bfs/bean's i would want to know so that i could plan my next few days, weeks, or as long as it would take to debug the place.
66297402Marti said on Tuesday, May 3 at 7:25 AM
This is a deadly infection. My 50 year old nephew just had his leg amputated 2 months ago because he contacted MRSA when he had a knee replacement 2 years ago. Researchers have to continue to figure out how to fight this deadly infection.
66282292alaskarabbit said on Monday, May 2 at 9:50 PM
MRSA lives on the slope and is being spread by slopers. My family are now experts on the subject having had three genetically unrelated strains documented by the infectious disease expert in Anchorage. My husband is no longer a sloper, and we have finally managed to eradicate the chronic infections from our home after almost three years of continuous disinfecting, cleaning, even moving into a brand-new construction home. This stuff is vicious, deadly, and thrives in the slope camp environments where shared rooms/beds/bathrooms combined with regular high-turnover rates equal a self-perpetuating bacterial-spreading nightmare. Hand-sanitizer people! And Hospital-grade cleaners. There is no obvious solution to the bacterial-haven that is the Slope, but awareness of the problem is the first step.
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