10/31/2007

With stories of MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylcoccus aureus) infections showing up in the news, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has issued advice to workers and employers on how to reduce the risks of these infections in the workplace.

Staphylococcus aureus, often called “staph,” are common bacteria found on the skin and nose—about 25 to 30 percent of healthy people carry the bacteria. Occasionally, though, staph can cause an infection—it is the most common cause of skin infections in the United States. Usually, staph infections can be treated without antibiotics. However, staph can also cause very serious infections of the skin, organs, or bloodstream, as well as pneumonia; particularly serious infections are those caused by staph bacteria that are resistant to the antibiotic methicillin or other antibiotics—these are the MRSA bacteria. MRSA-caused infections used to be found primarily in health care settings. However, there has been an increase in these types of infections in community settings.

MRSA is primarily transmitted by skin-to-skin contact or contact with shared items or surfaces that have come into contact with a person's infection (towels or bandages, for example). Common community settings where MRSA infections have occurred include dormitories, military barracks, correctional facilities, schools and other facilities with locker rooms, and daycare centers.

To prevent transmission of MRSA in the workplace, the following precautions are advised:

• Workers with active infections should be excluded from activities where skin-to-skin contact is likely to occur until their infections have healed.
• Keep wounds that are open and draining or have pus covered with a clean, dry bandage. If wounds cannot be kept covered or good hygiene cannot be maintained, consider excluding the employee from work until the infection has healed.
• Ensure that infected workers and those who are in contact with them practice frequent hand washing with soap and warm water. If soap and water are not readily available, use alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
• Personal items such as uniforms, personal protective equipment, clothing, towels, washcloths, or razors that may have come in contact with an infected wound or bandage should not be shared.
• Items such as uniforms, clothing, sheets, or towels should be washed in water and laundry detergent after use and dried in a hot dryer. Drying items in a hot dryer rather than air drying helps to kill bacteria.
• Ensure that routine housekeeping is done in the workplace, including cleaning potentially contaminated equipment and surfaces with detergent-based cleaners or disinfectants. (A list of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-registered products effective against MRSA is available online).

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