Health & Fitness
MRSA Strikes in Commack
A New York emergency medicine physician reminds people not to share clothing; sports or gym equipment; or towels with others.
News about two Commack students contracting methicillin-resistant Staphyllccocus aureus (MRSA), prompted a New York emergency medicine physician to remind people not to share clothing; sports or gym equipment; or towels with others.
MRSA is an infection of the skin and surrounding tissue. An infected person’s skin might have a red, raised patch or an abscess; a person with MRSA may or may not have a fever, says Sanjey Gupta, MD, chairman of emergency medicine at Franklin Hospital in Valley Stream. It’s typically spread by contact with another person’s skin or an item that has touched an infected person’s skin – sports pads, towels, clothing, wrestling mats, et cetera.
“The ultimate concern is whether this bacteria can spread to the blood,” Dr. Gupta says.
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If you have a skin patch or abscess, you should seek medical attention. To prevent the spread of MRSA, people should wash their hands and skin, wash any potentially infected clothes with bleach and thoroughly disinfect shared communal areas and items.
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