Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 18th April 2024 Issue no. 1110
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Deadly bacteria invades US communities—MRSA infections jump 55%, warns Clearstream
Officials at Clearstream, who previously spoke out about MRSA’s prevalence in athletic facilities, are now warning of the infection’s spread to communities.
Historically, MRSA infections were relegated to sick patients in hospitals and healthcare facilities, but the ever-resistant bacteria is now present within communities and increasingly infecting otherwise healthy children and adults. In a 2013 report released by the US Centers for Disease Control, researchers established a 10% per year rise in MRSA infections in children from 2005 - 2010, and the proportion of those cases involving community-associated MRSA jumped by 55%.
Clearstream, a diversified provider of environmentally-friendly antimicrobial products and services, says that the serious risks posed by MRSA infections make advanced sanitisation technology and hygiene methods essential to protecting public health. Clearstream utilises sophisticated antimicrobial technologies and advanced long-term application protocols throughout the US in an effort to stop the spread of viral and bacterial contaminants.
Currently, the CDC tracks only ‘invasive’ MRSA infections—cases where the bacteria have reached the bloodstream or invaded internal organs—and 80,500 invasive MRSA cases were recorded in 2011, the most recent year of data available, which was celebrated as a significant decline from previous years.
But that same year, there were nearly 460,000 hospitalisations involving an MRSA diagnosis, according to hospital billing data collected by the US.Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality—meaning that the CDC’s figures excluded more than 375,000 MRSA infections that were severe enough to involve hospital care. Further, the figures failed to include the incidents that go untreated and unreported that some experts believe could potentially range in the millions, per Clearstream CEO Jim Praechtl.
Jim Praechtl warns that the CDC’s tracking methods fail to showcase the true risk of MRSA infections, which he says are much more prevalent than the public realises. And not only is the lack of accurate data inhibiting efforts to develop prevention strategies - due to sparse evidence on where and when most community-based MRSA cases occur, but it is also giving the public a false sense of safety.
“The general public is largely unaware of the risk that MRSA poses to their health—there are strains of bacteria circulating throughout communities, and they are becoming increasingly drug-resistant and resilient, a fact which makes advanced sanitisation methods and efficient antimicrobial technologies a necessity for helping to protect public safety and health,” he argues.
Clearstream’s services, which have been utilised by several industries ranging from professional sports teams to healthcare facilities, are provided to the full range of stakeholders responsible for controlling the spread of infectious diseases. mPact, Clearstream’s service division, offers a two-step protective solution consisting of EPA- and FDA-registered products:
1. mPerial detergent/disinfectant provides sanitisation and disinfection that eliminate a broad spectrum of bacteria, fungi and viruses, and is proven effective against, but not limited to, Norovirus (Norwalk virus), MRSA, HIV-1, and Vancomycin intermediate resistant Staphylococcus aureus (VISA). mPerial, with its grime-removing and disinfecting properties, is the first step in the mPact protocol.
2. mPale Antimicrobial with ÆGIS Microbe Shield is a surface protection technology that renders offending microbes inactive, while doing so safely for people and animals. Its design allows the formula to bond with virtually all surfaces, and provides a non-leaching, non-toxic and environmentally-safe long-term protection.
In addition to embracing antimicrobial technology, Jim Praechtl’s partner, Tony Daddona, encourages the public to adopt good hygiene habits to limit the risk of exposure to MRSA and other bacterial and viral contaminants that are impacting people’s health, specifically with regard to public areas and those which tend to be densely populated, such as gyms, grocery stores, public transportation and schools.
For increased protection, Tony Daddona suggests that citizens should take a more proactive approach to fighting bacteria by finding out what their local public facilities are doing about containing the MRSA bacterium.
“Our goal is to be a contributing factor in the fight against MRSA and other harmful contaminants,” he says. “Through our technology, we aim to eradicate harmful microorganisms and protect the surfaces that human populations come in contact with, thereby providing an additional safeguard for the public.”
17th April 2014