CA-MRSA
The California Medical Association Foundation’s AWARE (Alliance Working for Antibiotic Resistance Education) Project will convene key stakeholders in California to discuss the emerging epidemic of Community-Associated Methicillin-Resistant Staphyolococcus aureus (CA-MRSA).
The purpose of this symposium is to raise awareness and review a statewide action plan that will seek to strengthen and effectively coordinate efforts to prevent, diagnose and treat CA-MRSA in California.
Community-Associated Methicillin-Resistant Staphyolococcus aureus is a type of Staph bacteria that usually manifests as a skin infection, similar to a pimple or a boil.
CA-MRSA is commonly mistaken for a “spider bite”. CA-MRSA is contracted by individuals who have not been hospitalized or had a medical procedure within the past year.
CA-MRSA is a communicable infection that is currently not a reportable disease in California.
Some risk factors for CA-MRSA include: recent antibiotic use, recurrent skin diseases, and crowded living conditions.
CA-MRSA is transmitted primarily through direct skin-to-skin contact, but can also be spread through contamination of environmental surfaces such as clothing and towels.
If left untreated, CA-MRSA can infect the blood and bones, and is potentially life-threatening.
CA-MRSA is resistant to many antibiotics; however it can be treated if diagnosed properly and early. If individuals clinically present with signs of CA-MRSA,
a culture is taken from the infected area and tested for resistance. Positive results may require the wound to be drained to treat the skin abscess. In recent
years, there have been clusters of skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) in certain groups, such as prison inmates,
players of close-contact sports, and in K- 12 schools and childcare settings. However, CA-MRSA is not limited to these populations.
CA-MRSA outbreaks have also occurred in healthy people who come into contact with individuals unaware that they may have the infection.
This poses a serious risk to the public as undetected and untreated CA-MRSA can continue to voraciously spread among the general population.
Due to the increasing numbers of CA-MRSA being reported, it is important to address it as a public health issue. Some infection control and treatment guidance exists, but much is unknown about the best method of treatment of CA-MRSA. Information on proven
reproducible prevention strategies and methods are lacking and additional surveillance, epidemiological and clinical
studies are necessary. Research has shown an increase in hard-to-treat SSTIs and outbreaks within families. Additionally, with an increase in complications,
more patients require anesthesia to drain CA-MRSA skin abscesses. Resources to raise public awareness of the seriousness of CA-MRSA are still needed.
CA-MRSA is part of a larger problem of antibiotic resistance. Unless more research is done, and public health officials and physicians collaborate to develop resources and effective medication, it is
anticipated that CA-MRSA will be progressively harder to manage and control. Without a statewide plan to combat this potentially dangerous infection, more
individuals will contract CA-MRSA at an alarming rate. The potential ramifications of CA-MRSA are unknown if it is left to proliferate in the public domain
without being reported. Sound research and information needs to be developed to build public awareness about the seriousness of this infection, and what the
public can do to guard themselves from contracting CA-MRSA. Building a collaborative about CA-MRSA will inform state policy leaders, and bring CA-MRSA into the
forefront as an emerging epidemic and serious public health issue.