Elon reported cases of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, a resistant strain of the bacteria that causes staph infections, to students last Wednesday via e-mail.

Thus far, the university has confirmed 11 cases on campus although no new cases were reported in the past two weeks. Two non-athletes and nine athletes were infected and the bacteria have since been contained.

Jana Lynn Patterson, assistant vice president for student life and associate dean of students, said the cases of MRSA on campus should be taken seriously, but students should not be alarmed. She said the point of the email she sent out last week was to educate students on the situation and encourage routine hygienic practices.

“I think our students are calm about things if we give them good information. They know what to do,” Patterson said. “I’m impressed with how well students are responding.”

According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention report published last week in the Journal of the American Medical Association, MRSA is responsible for more deaths in the United States each year than AIDS. In 2005, the bacteria took the lives of 19,000 people.

Eric Storsved, director of athletic training services, said the outbreak started in September and lasted for three or four weeks. He said a new case broke out every three days.

Currently, there are not any cases in the football team.

Storsved said that all the athletes fully recovered. One had to be hospitalized and treated with I.V. antibiotics. The rest were treated in R.N. Ellington Health Center.

“We are taking this very seriously. Our top concern is trying to stop the spread of the infection,” Storsved said.

Staph infections are common and easily treated. MRSA, pronounced “mersa,” is a strain of staph bacteria that cannot be treated by everyday antibiotics such as penicillin, but it can be treated with other drugs. It can cause skin infections that may look like a pimple or boil. The infected area may be red, swollen and have some type of drainage.

There must be a break or lesion on the skin for the bacteria to infect someone. The infection can spread by sharing towels, sports equipment, razors or other personal items with an infected person. The majority of infections are passed through skin-to-skin contact with an open wound.

When someone has an infection on the skin, an incision has to be made to allow drainage. It takes the infection seven to 10 days to leave the body.

Athletes are prone to staph infections because they are in such close contact. Football players and wrestlers have experienced the most cases because they easily spread the bacteria to one another.

When an athlete is infected with MRSA, there are very strict guidelines to follow.

“Athletes don’t practice or play if they have an open wound. It’s not worth it to have one guy play and next week have five more players infected,” Storsved said. “It’s also an ethical bind because if you allow an infected guy to play, he might transmit it to the other team.”

According to Storsved, the football team has taken extra caution to stop the spread of the bacteria. He said that they are using a stronger laundry detergent on the athletes’ jerseys and are increasing the temperature of the dryers to kill bacteria. Anti-bacterial lotion dispensers were installed on both entrances to the locker room. Each football player also must have routine skin checks by an athletic trainer.

Athletic facilities were decontaminated as well. The carpets in the athletic weight room are treated on a weekly basis and the benches are sprayed down after each team’s workout ends. Treatment rooms are cleaned numerous times per day and the field house is power washed every Wednesday.

“We’re going to be looking at this problem yearly,” Storsved said. “Bacteria evolve and change and we’ll keep running into bacteria that can’t be treated with normal antibiotics.”

Although the infection is a very serious issue, some feel that the media has blown MRSA out of proportion, referring to it at times as an epidemic.

“A lot of information [about MRSA] coming out now is good to have, but it has been too sensationalized,” university physician Jim Hawkins said. “I like the information, but not the fear. I approach each case with caution and I am concerned, but not afraid.”

Hawkins said that about 30 to 50 percent of students would have the staph bacteria in their noses if he swabbed the entire campus. MRSA is a more extreme version, he said, but it should not cause panic.

“It is a concerning germ because MRSA can’t be treated with the medicine we used to use,” Hawkins said. “MRSA is resistant which makes it stronger and scarier, but it can be treated with other antibiotics.”

Hawkins said that MRSA outbreaks used to affect only older people. In the past three to four years, outbreaks started to affect young, healthy people, yet doctors don't know exactly why this is happening.

“The best information for students to have is to use proper hygiene," Hawkins said. "Don’t share personal belongings, wash your hands frequently and if you think you may be infected, get it checked out immediately."

The national obsession with the bacteria started when Ashton Bonds, a 17-year-old football player from Staunton River High School in Moneta, Va. died on Oct. 15. His case was rare, but it was the cause of alarm in many other states.

High schools were closed and events were canceled in Connecticut, Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia. Cleaning crews disinfected all the common areas in these schools, such as buses, lockers, cafeterias and classrooms.

“Germs have been here forever and will be long after the human race is gone. They are smarter than us, they are able to mutate,” Hawkins said. “But there is no reason to be afraid. Don’t run around like Chicken Little saying the sky is falling because it’s not. Yeah, we have a few problems, but it’s going to be just fine.”

Reporter: Kaitlin Busch - 10/31/07