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State Issues Tips On Staph Prevention
POSTED: 6:28 am CDT October 18,
2007
UPDATED: 3:01 pm CDT October 18,
2007
DALLAS -- State issues tips for preventing staph infectionsThe
Texas Department of State Health Services has issued new guidelines for
preventing staph infections as the public becomes more concerned about
drug-resistant cases that can turn deadly.Many of the guidelines
released Wednesday focus on common-sense hygienic practices to reduce
spread of the bacteria in places like high school athletic departments,
child-care facilities, dormitories, gyms and spas.
"Regular hand washing is the most important means of preventing staph transmission," according to the guidelines.A
report released Tuesday by the federal Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention found that more than 90,000 Americans acquire potentially
deadly infections each year from a drug-resistant staph "superbug,"
resulting in about 18,500 deaths.Most drug-resistant staph cases
are mild skin infections, but in the worst cases it can enter the
bloodstream, destroy flesh and cause death.In recent years, the
resistant germ has become more common in hospitals and it has been
spreading through prisons, gyms and locker rooms, and in poor urban
neighborhoods.Texas health officials believe they're seeing more
cases of the drug-resistant bug, called methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA. But the state does not require the
reporting of such staph infections to state or local health authorities."So
it's essentially impossible to quantify the number of people who've
been infected and treated by private physicians," said Dr. John Carlo,
medical director of the Dallas County health department."It's on everybody's radar screen today," he said. "But we just can't get our hands on how severe this problem is."Marilyn
Felkner, epidemiologist for the state health department, said the
guidelines were issued coincidentally to the CDC report. The department
had been working on the new guidelines for release during this week's
recognition of "infection-prevention week," she said."A strain
of bacteria has been evolving in the community over the years that is
resistant to penicillin and other antibiotics, but it's finally getting
people's attention," she said.For More Information:State Guidelines On Staph Prevention
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Previous Stories:
- October 17, 2007: Garland Woman Says More Staph Infection Awareness Needed
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.