2008 Woodie Awards
Clinic educates campus on staph
Reneese Pope
Issue date: 11/29/07 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
The bacterium Staphylococcus is easily spread around a college campus and may be avoided, officials from the UTC Student Health Center said.
More commonly known as staph, the bacterium is found on the skin and is easily transmitted, Christine Smith, coordinator of the student health center, said.
"Staph does not become a problem until it enters into a wound or a cut," Smith said. "It becomes an infection and if it is not treated can cause skin loss or even the loss of a limb."
Anyone living in close quarters, a dorm room for example, is at high risk to get a staph infection, Smith said.
"Athletes are especially susceptible because they often share objects like towels and even uniforms. If items are not kept cleaned and washed regularly, staph can spread from person to person," she said.
Doctors diagnose the type of staph a patient has by performing a culture wound on open skin, Smith said. It is sent to a lab to check which antibiotics the bacteria will reject and which ones will help rid the bacteria.
June Matthews, an RN at the student health center said, "Although staph infections are not a prominent problem here on the UTC campus, it is taken very seriously."
A new strand of staph infections, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, has developed a resistance to the antibiotics commonly used to treat staph infections, Matthews said.
It is more dangerous because available antibiotics cannot easily cure it, Matthews said. "One way to prevent a staph infection is to wash your hands," she said.
"Frequently wash towels when someone is sick. And if you are unsure about a wound, get it checked out."
More commonly known as staph, the bacterium is found on the skin and is easily transmitted, Christine Smith, coordinator of the student health center, said.
"Staph does not become a problem until it enters into a wound or a cut," Smith said. "It becomes an infection and if it is not treated can cause skin loss or even the loss of a limb."
Anyone living in close quarters, a dorm room for example, is at high risk to get a staph infection, Smith said.
"Athletes are especially susceptible because they often share objects like towels and even uniforms. If items are not kept cleaned and washed regularly, staph can spread from person to person," she said.
Doctors diagnose the type of staph a patient has by performing a culture wound on open skin, Smith said. It is sent to a lab to check which antibiotics the bacteria will reject and which ones will help rid the bacteria.
June Matthews, an RN at the student health center said, "Although staph infections are not a prominent problem here on the UTC campus, it is taken very seriously."
A new strand of staph infections, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, has developed a resistance to the antibiotics commonly used to treat staph infections, Matthews said.
It is more dangerous because available antibiotics cannot easily cure it, Matthews said. "One way to prevent a staph infection is to wash your hands," she said.
"Frequently wash towels when someone is sick. And if you are unsure about a wound, get it checked out."
