
October 26th / 28th, 2007
"The Dirty Truth About Staph"
It’s human nature to blame others. We blame chemical companies for
polluting our air, farmers for fouling our streams, oil companies for damaging our
oceans, and SUV drivers for warming the globe. But if we want to point the
finger of blame at someone for the rampant rise in staph infections, then we
should look no further than our own dirty digits.
The recent death of a Staunton, Virginia high school student is tragic for a
number of reasons, including that his death was preventable. Somehow,
somewhere, he came in contact with someone who directly or indirectly
transmitted the drug- resistant superbug, and, more likely than not, that culprit
practiced poor hygiene.
It is a problem that we should have solved generations ago. For example,
according to Discovery Magazine, President James Garfield did not die from an
assassin’s bullet. Instead, the President’s death has been attributed to
infection caused by his medical team who had manure-stained hands. That was
over 120 years ago, so you’d think we would have learned how to properly wash
our hands in that amount of time.
And yet, Americans still die from e-coli, and now, from a super staph
infection which is threatening to overtake AIDS as our nation’s number one
infectious disease.
MRSA (Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus) is generally found on the
skin or in the nose of about one third of our population. However, most of
us are “colonized” by, but not infected with the disease, therefore, the
presence of the germs on our body pose no health risk. And while hospitals
have always been incubators for staph, increasingly, the potentially deadly
superbug is being transmitted by and among our young people, mainly while they
are at school.
According to CNN over 90,000 people were infected with MRSA in 2005,
resulting in over 18,000 deaths. And, CBS reports that, in 2007, over 1,800 new
cases occur each week. As of October 20, MRSA strains have popped up in eight
states, including in North Carolina. Here in the Piedmont, for example, six
football players recently became infected with the superbug at East Forsyth
High School.
We are told by medical professionals that MRSA is not spread through the
air, and is only passed from skin to skin contact, or indirectly by sharing
sports and gym equipment.
Meanwhile, radio pundits and others have speculated as
to why the superbug is on the attack, with theories ranging from the rise in
illegal immigrants, to the over-prescription of antibiotics. But the truth
is that many of us have become complacent about hygiene, and inconsiderate
about our responsibility to our fellow man in that regard.
We still board planes, trains and buses even though we have the flu. We
still send our children to school even though they might have been throwing up
the night before. And there are still people (including in the food service
industry) who refuse to wash their hands after visiting the toilet. Come on,
America, good hygiene is not difficult or expensive. It is one of the few
things everyone can practice regardless of our age or economic status.
Cleanliness is not brain surgery. When in doubt, thoroughly wash your
hands with warm, soapy water before and after coming in contact with just about
anything or anyone. Also, if you frequent a gym, take some antiseptic wipes
with you and wipe down the equipment before and after you use it. If you work
in a gym, put on rubber gloves before picking up discarded towels. And if
you run a restaurant, it’s time to shut down your salad bars and dinner
buffets once and for all. These communal feeding troughs haven’t been linked to
MRSA, but they have been potential breeding grounds for infection, so this is
as good a time as any to do the right thing in the name of public health.
Yes, it’s possible that MRSA could become the new American epidemic, but for
now, we can all pitch in to help stem the tide of staph by simply using
common sense, and by practicing good hygiene.
It’s a matter of washing up now, or being washed up later.
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