The nations’ top doctor at the Center for Disease Control, Dr. Julie Gerberding, says of MRSA… “I like to think of it as the cockroach of bacteria”… pointing out MRSA’s ability to live on various surfaces and spread by catching a ride on an unwashed hand.

She told a hearing of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Control… “Soap and water is the cheapest intervention we have and it’s one of the most effective.”

(see our website article on proper hand washing to understand why most hand washing is not effective and why the MRSA problem is spreading)

MRSA is an incredibly common staph family of germs. Over time, germs evolve to withstand treatment. Most staph in no longer treatable by penicillin or by a newer generation antibiotic, methicillin. Last month, the CDC reported the first national estimate of serious MRSA infections – 94,000 in 2005. One estimate puts the death toll at more than 18,000, slightly higher than U.S. deaths from AIDS.

More and more the four scariest letters for parents and students across the country are MRSA. What is upsetting about the recent reports is that they are coming from outside the hospital, confirming that drug resistant strains of the bacteria are finding new homes in the community – particularly among kids. Experts blame the emergence of these souped-up bugs in part on our habit of treating so many infections with powerful antibiotics; the microbes battle back by mutating to become resistant to the drugs

More firms focus on staph prevention. Employers are beginning to react to the new health risk posed by antibiotic-resistant staph infections, a hazard that has spread beyond hospitals in to schools and now in workplace environments. Most cases outside of hospitals have been confined to schools, but the workplace isn’t immune. Data show staph is commonly found in cars and offices. Hotspots include cell phones computer keyboards and faucets.