MRSA (Mersa, Staph) Questions

Healthcare Workers Low Compliance With Hand Hygiene

Link: Healthcare Workers Low Compliance With Hand Hygiene Is Responsible For Bacterial Contamination Not Only In Hospital Settings.

A study conducted by D. van der Vegt and A. Voss (Nijmegen, NL) presented at the 18th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases in Barcelona, has found that compliance with hand hygiene in the healthcare setting is generally low (on average 40%), despite the fact that good hand hygiene still is one of the most important measures to prevent nosocomial infections. Since the main indications for hand hygiene differ between healthcare and non-healthcare settings, but no comparison has been done previously, the aim of the study was to investigate the degree of compliance with hand hygiene after toilet visits in and outside the healthcare setting. Authors evaluated different groups of healthcare workers (hospital/laboratory personnel and participants of ECCMID 2007) and users of public lavatories along motorways with regard to their compliance with hand washing after toilet visits. Compliance with hand hygiene after toilet visits was 46% for hospital/laboratory personnel, 84% for participants of ECCMID 2007 and 75% for users of public lavatories along motorways, with healthcare workers showing the lowest compliance rates. Fortunately, healthcare workers showed different compliance with hand hygiene in and outside the healthcare setting: in fact the group of healthcare-workers participating to the ECCMID 2007 had the highest compliance. While the comparison of these different groups most certainly is not a perfect study, it is interesting to see that hand hygiene compliance after toilet visits is the lowest in the healthcare setting. Possibly, the feeling of a 'miasmic' environment (presumed 'dirty' public toilets) triggers hand hygiene compliance, whereas the "clean" hospital environment may jam the trigger to do so.

Family wants hand sanitizers in schools

Link: Bradenton.com | 04/22/2008 | Family wants hand sanitizers in schools.

Family wants Manatee County Schools to add hand sanitizers to protect against MRSA After their daughter, Hannah, nearly died of severe pneumonia complicated by antibiotic resistant staph infection, Kim and Scott Ryan are on a mission. They want to see hand santizers in all Manatee County schools to help protect children and staff from Methicillin-resistant staph aureus or MRSA. A form of staph bacteria that has been around for centuries, MRSA is everywhere, according to Dr. David Berman, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg who helped save Hannah's life. While MRSA pneumonia is a relatively new and rare infection, All Children's has been seeing an increase number of skin infections caused by the community acquired strain of the antibiotic resistant bacterium, Berman said. Berman supports the Ryans' call for increased emphasis on prevention. And the best prevention, Berman said, is simple soap and water. He advocates teaching good hand-washing skills (rubbing your hands with soapy suds for one complete singing of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star") and the availability of hand santizers and alcohol-based hand rubs in high traffic places where soap and water are not available.

Visitors who ignore 'wash your hands' signs at city hospitals are thwarting efforts against deadly superbugs.

Link: Visitors who ignore 'wash your hands' signs at city hospitals are thwarting efforts against deadly superbugs..

Visitors who ignore 'wash your hands' signs at city hospitals are thwarting efforts against deadly superbugs. Hospital bosses are now pleading with patients' friends and loved ones to remember to wash their hands when visiting - or risk spreading deadly infections to vulnerable patients. The warning comes as new figures published today show hospital bosses in Nottingham are slowly winning their war on bugs like MRSA and clostridium difficle. But their hard work is being sabotaged by visitors to the Queen's Medical Centre and City Hospital who ignore posters. Hand washing with alcohol gel kills bugs like MRSA. However, the hardy spores of the diarrhoea-causing C Diff bug are not affected - and those around patients with this infection should use soap and water. A new audit system has been brought in by bosses at Nottingham University Hospitals - which runs the two sites - to gauge how many people are washing their hands. The results are displayed on boards in each ward, with the percentage of nurses, doctors and visitors who follow the hand-washing advice displayed.

Next Generation Skin Sanitizer Technology To Provide Long-Lasting Protection From MRSA

Link: Quick-Med Technologies Is Developing A Next Generation Skin Sanitizer Technology To Provide Long-Lasting Protection From MRSA.

"Quick-Med's NimbuDerm technology has the potential to dramatically change the hand-hygiene paradigm by combining the immediate disinfection power of an instant sanitizer with the long-lasting antimicrobial persistence of an advanced bio-active polymer," declared Dr. Gerald M. Olderman, Vice President of R&D and leader of the company's scientific team. "With many infections being transferred via hand contact, we believe NimbuDerm's third-generation technology could bring a new level of hand-hygiene assurance to consumers and healthcare professionals alike" he observed. Laboratory tests demonstrate that NimbuDerm's unique antimicrobial polymer properties will kill more than 99.99% of disease causing germs, including the lethal strain of MRSA. Human use tests show that NimbuDerm also provides the same high level of continuing antimicrobial protection for 6 hours after each application without wearing off or losing its effectiveness. Poor hand hygiene is considered to be a major contributor to the increase in MRSA infections.

1 in 4 could spread MRSA 0n hands

Link: News Wales > Health > Clean hands could save a million pounds.

Twenty two percent of peope in Wales fail to wash their hands afer going to the loo, a report says today. Men are worse than women and England is worse than Wales. The report was released as Caerphilly company PHS Washrooms launched a world first in low energy hand-dryers - Airforcetm. The firm said handwashing could save more than a million pounds a year. According to the survey, 24 percent of us have witnessed people leaving the toilet daily without a visit to the sink – almost a third (29 percent) in the gents and just under 20 pecrent in the ladies. In England, just under a quarter (24 percent) have witnessed daily ‘leavers’, whereas in Wales the figure is just over a fifth (22 percent). And yet, says the report, only just over a third of us are reluctant to shake hands (35 percent) just in case someone hasn’t washed their hands.

Frequent Handwashing Increases Risk for Irritant Contact Dermatitis

Link: Frequent Handwashing Increases Risk for Irritant Contact Dermatitis.

For the millions of healthcare workers in the United States, repeated handwashing may not seem like an occupational hazard at first glance. In fact, good hand hygiene is essential to stop the spread of infections such as staphylococcus and clostridium. However, new research examining the risk factors for irritant contact dermatitis – a common skin condition marked by scaling, redness, itching and burning due to a chemical substance on the skin – among healthcare workers finds that those who washed their hands more than 10 times per day were more likely to develop the condition than those who washed their hands less frequently. Speaking at the 66th annual meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology, held Feb. 1-5 in San Antonio, dermatologist Susan T. Nedorost, MD, FAAD, associate professor of dermatology at University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio, presented findings that demonstrated a positive link between frequent handwashing and irritant contact dermatitis, or hand dermatitis, among healthcare workers. "We demonstrated that some people are predisposed to skin reactions to irritant detergents, and those who do ‘wet’ work in low humidity conditions where frequent handwashing is an essential part of the job are very susceptible to hand dermatitis," said Nedorost. "Our findings confirm that healthcare workers who wash their hands repeatedly are at an increased risk of developing hand dermatitis, which can take months to heal. This knowledge can help workers at risk for the condition to practice good hand care and follow preventative tips to decrease their risk factors on the job."

DeKalb Memorial launches hand hygiene awareness campaign

Link: DeKalb Memorial launches hand hygiene awareness campaign.

This spring, DeKalb Memorial Hospital is launching an awareness campaign to remind its staff and educate the community about the benefits of proper hand hygiene for prevention of infectious disease. With the recent rise in community acquired MRSA incidents, DeKalb Memorial believes now more than ever is the time to take on this important outreach and awareness effort. “Last fall, the Journal of the American Medical Association featured an article that said MRSA deaths have increased over HIV deaths in the past years,” said Kelly Dunham, vice president of DeKalb Memorial Hospital. “The public becomes aware, and they want to know what their hospitals are doing to avoid the harmful infection.” Although hospital acquired MRSA infection rates across the nation have remained relatively stable, it is the community acquired infection rates that are on the rise and in some cases have doubled in a few short years.

Expert Disputes Interpretation of Hand Hygiene Survey

Link: Expert Disputes Interpretation of Hand Hygiene Survey at University of Nebraska Medical Center.

A recent medical study’s results are being misconstrued and receiving attention for the wrong reasons. The study, published in the January issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, focused on hand hygiene and whether alcohol-based hand gel prevents the spread of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs). Despite doubling hand hygiene compliance to 70 percent among healthcare workers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC), a corresponding decrease in infections rates was not observed. “This study should not be interpreted to mean that hand hygiene is not important in the prevention of infections or that it contradicts CDC recommendations,” said Dr. Mark E. Rupp, lead investigator on the study. “Instead, I think the main message is that hand hygiene is not a panacea and that it is but one ingredient in the recipe of infection prevention.” The study was not meant to be seen as a contradiction to current hospital guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which says better hand hygiene reduces the spread of hospital infections, said Dr. Victoria Fraser of Washington University School of Medicine. “It’s not enough to place the focus solely on hand hygiene,” said Fraser. “There are numerous factors contributing to infection rates in hospitals and the spotlight should be on those as well.”  Some of those factors include: proper insertion and maintenance of catheters and prescribing antibiotics only when necessary so to avoid the appearance of drug-resistant bacteria.

Anti-MRSA Products Available on New Internet Hub

Link: Universal Detection Technology's Anti-MRSA Products Available on New Internet Hub.

The website, www.antimicrobialproduct.com, features UDTT's anti-MRSA sprays, antimicrobial washing machine additive, and antibacterial lotions. All these products have been successfully tested on over 50 different organisms in over 2,000 applications. "The launch of www.antimicrobialproduct.com is intended to enhance the visibility of our antimicrobial products on the internet. Our Silver line of antibacterial products has applications in the healthcare and hospitality industries as well as schools, commercial buildings, and various other sectors. We hope to be able to generate more interest in our line of antimicrobial products through this new internet hub," said Mr. Jacques Tizabi, UDTT's Chief Executive Officer.

30 studies show hand washing neglect

Link: Beating the staph superbug - Los Angeles Times.

But, with a few exceptions, hospitals and public agencies have been slow to gear up against MRSA. More than 30 studies have shown, for example, that healthcare workers wash their hands about half as often as they're supposed to, even though washing before and after seeing each patient would drastically cut down on infection rates. Hospital surfaces and equipment aren't cleaned as often as they should be, and careless habits -- like touching potentially contaminated surfaces after hands have been washed but before touching the patient -- contribute to the spread. The first order of business should be to get a clear picture of MRSA. Where is it and how prevalent? An upcoming bill by state Sen. Elaine Alquist (D-Santa Clara) would make MRSA a reportable disease and require hospitals and nursing homes to report their infection rates. In Tennessee, which tracks MRSA, it quickly became the third most common reportable disease in the state, behind chlamydia and gonorrhea. A similar bill was vetoed in 2004 by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, but the recent news from the CDC should make him rethink his position, despite the almost certain opposition of hospitals.