The Health Center staff has always cultured internal infections, but for less serious cuts and abrasions the standard procedure was to prescribe an antibiotic such as methicillin. When the infections did not improve in four cases, cultures determined that MRSA was present, and a different antibiotic was needed for treatment.
"MRSA is usually spread in cities with large populations; however several New England schools, including Amherst College and UMass-Amherst, reported cases of MRSA," said Morgan. According to Morgan, it is probably not a coincidence that all four cases at the College involved athletes.
Staph, including MRSA, can be spread through direct contact, such as skin-to-skin touch, or indirect contact, like sharing an infected object such as athletic equipment. In addition, staph can be colonized or carried in the noses of some people. Healthy people who are colonized with staph do not show any symptoms, but if the bacteria enter the skin, an infection may occur, causing redness, warmth, swelling, tenderness, boils, blisters or a fever with chills.
"MRSA is something we are going to have to learn to live with," said Morgan. "We will have to learn to protect ourselves and others." Morgan cited a meeting in which deans, physical plant workers, Athletic Director Peter Gooding, Environmental Health and Safety Director Richard Mears and athletic trainers discussed a College policy for dealing with staph infections.
The Health Center now cultures all infections. Additionally, according to Head Athletic Trainer Stanley Zieja, staff members now clean the tables in the training room after each treatment instead of just every morning, a cleaning method which they used every semester up until the present one.
In addition, Health Services staff has tested all of the athletic trainers to ensure that none of them carry MRSA in their noses. Each trainer's test was negative. In the gym, signs encourage everyone to wipe down the equipment after each use. Automatic towel and hand sanitizer dispensers allow for contact-free cleaning.
The RCs were notified of the MRSA infections and put up posters explaining how to prevent staph from spreading.
"We were told to contact Amherst College Health Services if someone had a staph infection," said Yabi Marcos '06, a Resident Counselor in Drew House. "They gave us as much information as they could at the time. They told us in the best manner possible. They gave us information sheets and told us about the symptoms. It spreads by close contact. They told us to make sure residents washed their hands and cleaned up after themselves. They also gave us flyers to put up in our dorms. The flyers had little rules like 'don't share personal stuff.'"
Even with four cases of MRSA on campus, Morgan reassured students that staph infections are something of which they should be careful and aware but not terrified. "Staph infections have always been going on. The ones we are seeing now are just more and more resistant," he said. "It is not an epidemic; it's just more of a problem."
In addition to seeking help from training staff and RCs, the staff at Health Services has asked that student employees in the gym help keep the equipment clean in order to minimize the spread of staph. Health Services staff has also asked student gym employees to encourage others who use the gym to clean up after themselves. "Now at least twice a shift we have to wipe everything down and disinfect," said Amy Watson '05, a gym staff member.
"I do think students are doing a good job keeping things clean and using the spray," said Lauren Anderson '05, who also works at the gym.
Watson agreed that students generally are making an effort to clean up the equipment. "When I'm waiting for a treadmill, the people in front of me always clean up after they're done running," she said.