Hospitals aren’t the only facilities at risk for the spread of MRSA. Long-term care facilities – home to immuno-compromised and post-surgical patients – must also take measures to avoid outbreaks.
Associated with decades of often unnecessary antibiotic use, healthcare-associated Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (HA-MRSA) continues to plague a number of healthcare settings, according to the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research and the Mayo Clinic. Since antibiotics don’t destroy every germ they target, germs that survive one treatment with antibiotics soon learn to resist others. Because MRSA is a type of bacterium that can resist the effects of many common antibiotics, infections can be extremely difficult to cure.
Originally seen in hospitals, where it often caused serious bloodstream infections in people who were sick with other diseases and conditions, today MRSA occurs in a variety of nonhospital settings as well, sometimes affecting the skin of otherwise healthy individuals. Older individuals and those with weakened immune systems are particularly vulnerable to infection, as are those who receive intravenous tubing or urinary catheters, which can provide a pathway for MRSA to enter one’s body. Because MRSA is difficult to treat, the infection can spread through the body, infecting one’s joints, bones, heart, lungs and blood stream.
Once an outbreak of MRSA occurs in a long-term care setting, patients who are infected or colonized with MRSA often are placed in isolation. Healthcare workers and visitors may be required to wear protective apparel and follow strict hand hygiene practices. And, surfaces and laundry items must be disinfected.
Enforcing healthcare personnel handwashing procedures when they move from one patient to the next is crucial in helping to reduce the spread of any infection, including MRSA. When MRSA is suspected, traditionally, doctors have diagnosed it by checking a tissue sample or nasal secretions for signs of drug-resistant bacteria. The sample is sent to a lab where it’s placed in a dish of nutrients that encourage bacterial growth, according to the Mayo Clinic. Because it takes about 48 hours for the bacteria to grow, however, newer tests that can detect staph DNA in a matter of hours are becoming more widely available.
Rapid tests offer a fast and efficient means of screening patients with a suspicion of MRSA. Test results are available in a matter of hours, reducing the turnaround time for detection of MRSA colonization. Infected or colonized patients can be isolated more quickly, leading to lower rates of MRSA transmission.
Subhead: Prepare your accounts
Distributor sales reps can provide a service to their long-term care customers by supplying them with the necessary products to address the spread of infection, including:
- Hand hygiene products
- Surface disinfectants
- Gowns, gloves, masks and table paper when appropriate
- Rapid MRSA screening tests
Sales reps should encourage their accounts to be proactive. Careful handwashing remains the best defense against germs, notes the Mayo Clinic. Ideally, healthcare workers and visitors to long-term care facilities should wash their hands briskly for at least 15 seconds, then dry them with a disposable towel and use another towel to turn off the faucet. In areas where there is limited access to soap and water, Mayo recommends providing hand sanitizers containing at least 62 percent alcohol.
In addition, healthcare workers and visitors should be reminded to keep patients’ (and their own) cuts and abrasions clean and covered with sterile, dry bandages until they heal. The pus from infected sores may contain MRSA, and keeping wounds covered will help keep the bacteria from spreading. When patients do have cuts or sores, healthcare workers should wash towels and bed linens in a washing machine set to the hottest water setting (with added bleach, if possible) and dry them in a hot dryer. And, personal items, such as razors, clothing or towels, should not be shared among patients and residents.
What is MRSA?
MRSA infections can resist the effects of many common antibiotics, so they are more difficult to treat. This can allow the infections to spread and sometimes become life-threatening.
MRSA infections may affect the:
- Bloodstream
- Lungs
- Heart
- Bones
- Joints
MRSA skin infections look like a boil, pimple or spider bite that may be red, swollen, painful and infected with pus. These infections most commonly occur at sites where the skin has been broken by cuts or scrapes, or on areas of the skin covered by hair. They can be transmitted from one person to another by skin-to-skin contact or by touching contaminated objects.
Source: www.mayoclinic.org