MRSA can survive in the environment for months!

MRSA can survive for months in the environment on inanimate objects. This is according to a report

MRSA

presented at the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy in San Francisco September 2009.
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus also called ‘MRSA‘ is a certain type of Staph aureus that is resistant to traditional antibiotics including Methicillin.
MRSA can cause a more severe infection than regular Staph aureus and is increasingly common in the community.

The study authors inoculated several objects with small amounts of MRSA and left them untouched in the environment for varying periods of time. The study authors found that MRSA could survive for up to two months on non porous objects such as plastic building blocks and vinyl. Additionally, the authors showed that the bacteria could be transmitted by touching the contaminated object for just three seconds.

MRSA is spread by direct physical contact. This study is important in that it shows us an increased risk of the transmission of MRSA from items such as plastic blocks and vinyl bags and that the contact time with the contaminated object can be as short as, three seconds.

MRSA was recently in the news; it was found on the beaches off the coast of Washington. It appears that MRSA is becoming increasingly common in the environment and avoiding contact with high risk items such as plastic bags and building blocks may slow infection rates. Good hygiene and use of antibacterial soap will also lower the risk of infections. No soap bars have ever been shown to transmit MRSA.

Cristopher Geiler, M.D.
Reference
Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy in San Francisco.

Posted on September 22, 2009

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