BCDH has been assisting the school system in providing information to parents and the community. Communicable Disease Division staff is responding to inquiries as they are received from the public. Our agency continues to promote good hygiene and frequent hand washing practices, especially as we approach flu season.

Wash your hands often, especially when you're exposed to someone with an infection or when you touch objects that may be contaminated. If prescribed antibiotics, take all the pills–even if you feel better before they are all gone.

Cover your wound . Keep wounds that are draining or have pus covered with clean, dry bandages. Follow your healthcare provider’s instructions on proper care of the wound. Pus from infected wounds can contain staph and MRSA or other bacteria, so keeping the infection covered will help prevent the spread to others. Wash your hands .

Keep your hands clean by washing thoroughly with soap and water or using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. People with weakened immune systems, which include some patients with HIV infection, may be at risk for more severe illness if they get infected with MRSA. People with HIV should follow the same prevention measures as those without HIV to prevent staph infections, including practice good hygiene, cover wounds (e.g.

Good hygiene helps prevent staph and MRSA skin infections: Keep hands clean by washing thoroughly with soap and water. Keep cuts and abrasions clean and covered with a proper dressing (e.g., bandage) until healed. Avoid contact with other people's wounds or material contaminated from wounds.

CDC is working with state and local public health authorities to monitor and investigate infections with MRSA, including pneumonias and other types of MRSA infections that occur in patients with influenza. CDC also acts as a technical advisor to state and local health departments and various professional organizations that are working to control MRSA. No.

Yes. Some staph skin infections can be treated simply by draining the sore and keeping the wound clean. For more serious infections, antibiotics can be used to treat those infections. In antibiotics are prescribed by your healthcare provider, it is very important to finish taking all the pills and call your doctor if the infection does not get better.

Staph infections, including MRSA, occur most frequently among persons in hospitals and healthcare facilities (such as nursing homes and dialysis centers) who have weakened immune systems. These healthcare-associated staph infections include surgical wound infections, urinary tract infections, bloodstream infections, and pneumonia.

Staph bacteria are one of the most common causes of skin infection in the United States and are a common cause of pneumonia, surgical wound infections, and bloodstream infections. The majority of MRSA infections occur among patients in hospitals or other healthcare settings; however, it is becoming more common in the community setting.

Yes. Most staph and MRSA infections are treatable with antibiotics. If you are given an antibiotic, take all of the doses, even if the infection is getting better, unless your doctor tells you to stop taking it. Do not share antibiotics with other people or save unfinished antibiotics to use at another time. However, many staph skin infections may be treated by draining the abscess or boil and may not require antibiotics.

The Nassau County Department of Public Works (DPW) is responsible for mosquito control, they perform the following services: Monitor and treat with larvicides, when appropriate, 650 recharge basins (sumps), 200 miles of fresh water streams, 70,000 street basins, and 50 ponds. Check suspect breeding sites by "dipping," which entails scooping water from potential breeding areas to see if larvae are present.

Staph bacteria are one of the most common causes of skin infection in the United States and are a common cause of pneumonia, surgical wound infections, and bloodstream infections. The majority of MRSA infections occur among patients in hospitals or other healthcare settings; however, it is becoming more common in the community setting.

Yes. Most staph and MRSA infections are treatable with antibiotics. If you are given an antibiotic, take all of the doses, even if the infection is getting better, unless your doctor tells you to stop taking it. Do not share antibiotics with other people or save unfinished antibiotics to use at another time. However, many staph skin infections may be treated by draining the abscess or boil and may not require antibiotics.

Cover your wound. Keep wounds that are draining or have pus covered with clean, dry bandages. Follow your healthcare providerÕs instructions on proper care of the wound. Pus from infected wounds can contain staph and MRSA or other bacteria, so keeping the infection covered will help prevent the spread to others. Wash your hands.

In order to ensure the safety of other employees, the Department of Health, in consultation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), decided to dispense preventive immune globulin shots to the employee's co-workers to prevent any of them from contracting the disease.

In the community most MRSA infections are skin infections that may appear as pustules or boils which often are red, swollen, painful, or have pus or other drainage. These skin infections commonly occur at sites of visible skin trauma, such as cuts and abrasions, and areas of the body covered by hair (e.g., back of neck, groin, buttock, armpit, beard area of men). Almost all MRSA skin infections can be effectively treated by drainage of pus with or without antibiotics.

These factors, referred to as the 5 C's, are as follows: Crowding, frequent skin-to-skin Contact, Compromised skin (i.e., cuts or abrasions), Contaminated items and surfaces, and lack of Cleanliness. Locations where the 5 C's are common include schools, dormitories, military barracks, households, correctional facilities, and daycare centers.

The main way that MRSA is spread is through direct skin-to-skin contact. Contact with contaminated surfaces, such as athletic equipment, mats, and shared personal items (e.g., towels) may contribute a small amount to the spread of MRSA. In very rare situations (e.g., pneumonia caused by MRSA), MRSA could be spread as airborne droplets into the environment. The risk of infection to others would be very low for infection, but the droplets could contaminate surfaces.

Infections with MRSA occur for a wide variety of reasons (e.g., small wounds, poor hygiene, inadequate wound care) and can occur long after exposure to the source. Therefore, the source of an individual case usually cannot be determined. If a cluster of cases occurs within a defined group of persons who have a common exposure, such as a group activity, it may be safe to speculate that the source of the cluster is associated with the group activity.