MRSA in schools

p A Review of Literature Involving the Problem of

MRSA in Schools

INTRODUCTION

In the year 2005 , Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA claimed the lives of nearly 19 ,000 people in hospital settings (Shilling , 2007 . In hospitals , MRSA infections , though increasing in frequency , are not new issues among the ill and injured whose vulnerable immune systems are distressed or compromised . Yet the rise of potentially fatal outbreaks among the young and relatively healthy school population is a relatively new communicable-disease health threat . The emergence of MRSA in the public schools is what

this literature review aims to look at

A number of MRSA-related fatalities among the school population have raised new alarms about the new threat of what has been named Community-Acquired Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus , or CA-MRSA . School leaders and public health officials have reacted to the CA-MRSA threat by identifying high-risk population , behavior , and conditions as well as what can be done to combat CA-MRSA outbreaks proactively . What follows is an examination of current literature into MRSA and CA-MRSA as it manifests itself as a health threat within our schools

The key to preventing CA-MRSA outbreaks within schools appears to involve both educating both students and faculty on CA-MRSA prevention and proactively eliminating high-risk conditions and behavior that have been found to promote CA-MRSA outbreaks in schools . The consensus of literature on CA-MRSA prevention in schools recommends proactive and rigorous hygiene and sanitation as well as eliminating behavior known to increase the risk of CA-MRSA infection . Once key school staff , such...