If your employees are concerned about their families or themselves contracting MRSA (or MERSA as it is sometimes called), they aren't alone. They are joining many concerned people who have heard about Community-Associated MRSA.

The official name of this infection is Community-Associated Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (CA-MRSA). MRSA is a type of staph infection that is resistant to some antibiotics, including methicillin, oxacillin, penicillin, and amoxicillin.

The type of MRSA infection causing new concern--and media attention--is acquired by people who haven't been hospitalized within the past year or had medical procedures such as dialysis, surgery or catheters, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control (CDC) website (www.cdc.gov).

Staph or MRSA infections in the community usually show up as skin infections such as pimples and boils and occur in otherwise healthy people. MRSA is often spread by skin-to-skin contact or contact with shared items or surfaces that have come into contact with someone else's infection (e.g., towels, used bandages), according to the CDC.

Careful Hand Washing Is Answer

If your employees are alarmed about the number of occurrences of CA-MRSA they are hearing about in the news, first, reassure them that there are easy ways to prevent the spread of this staph infection. Second, remind your staff about proper handwashing procedures. Believe it or not, careful, regular handwashing is the best prevention.

Many healthcare providers use videos and demonstrations with staff on an annual basis as part of their infection-control training. You can do the same thing.

It may sound a bit silly to teach adults how to properly wash their hands, but when people are in a rush, they may not be doing it carefully--and some may not be doing it at all!

A recent observational survey sponsored by the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) and The Soap and Detergent Association (SDA) showed that 77 percent of men and women washed their hands when in public restrooms. In a separate telephone survey of adults, 92 percent said that they wash their hands in public restrooms.

When comparing men to women in actual hand washing, the observational survey results show that 88 percent of women washed their hands, while only 66 percent of men did.

SDA Vice President of Communications Brian Sansoni, comments: "There's no doubt about it--we need to do a better job of washing with soap and water ? we need to be smarter about our health and take the 20 seconds to lather up. And if soap and water aren't available, reach for the hand sanitizer or the hand wipes." To read the entire Hand Hygiene Survey results, visit www.cleaning101.com/newsroom/09-17-07.cfm .