mrsa screening
Posted on Thursday, July 19 @ 21:59:50 BST by jenvetadmin
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jenvetnurse writes "Screening staff and premises for MRSA is very important although it cannot act as a substitute for rigorous infectious disease control measures such as hand hygiene and cleaning.
It is important to differentiate transient carriage from colonisation and persistent carriage. Transient carriage is more common and accounts for the majority of MRSA cross infection and is most effectively controlled by hand decontamination.
Vets/vns who have had close contact with patients infected with MRSA should ensure they self-examine for hand and other skin lesions and report these immediatley.
If there are multiple infections within a practice it may be the case that MRSA has become an endemic problem. If the epidemiology suggests staff to animal transmission that is not contained by infectious disease control measures, then staff associated with these patients should be encouraged to undergo screening.
Colonised staff members should be encouraged to be assessed by their doctor. It is important that confidentiality is maintained and that no stigma are attached.
Many nasally colonised humans are not treated because MRSA is of no consequence to the majority of people, re-colonisation is common, antibiotic use encourages resistance and transmission can be controlled by other means, for instance good hand hygiene. Risk assessment by the GP including the type of staff, their duties, likely patient contact and what sites are affected will assess the need for antibiotics.
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