By Dan Champagne
Record-Journal staff

Joseph Garner said the “superbug” has been around for years. It just never got this kind of attention.
“Nothing has really changed,” said Garner, director of the infectious disease division and a hospital epidemiologist at the Hospital of Central Connecticut, New Britain. “I think what’s changed is the public’s awareness of it.”
The “superbug” is actually methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). It is a form of staph infection that may be more difficult to treat, according to the state Department of Public Health. Mild infections may look similar to a pimple or boil and may be swollen, red or may include pus.
It is passed from person to person through direct contact or through contact with a contaminated item. Staph can enter the body through breaks in the skin and can cause infections.
The best way to prevent staph infections is to wash hands and properly care for ! wounds.
MRSA has become a concern around the state, especially in schools after students from New Haven’s Albertus Magnus College, East Haven High School and Griswold Elementary School, in Berlin, were diagnosed with an infection in the last few weeks. There have been 733 reported cases of MRSA in the state so far this year, according to the state Department of Public Health.
A new state hot line for questions about antibiotic-resistant staph infections drew more than 240 calls in its first day of operation from parents and others concerned about the potentially fatal condition. The toll-free hot line, (800) 8309426, began operating Monday morning.
“Initially the vast majority of cases were related to people who had been in the hospital, but in the last few years we’ve been seeing more what we call community-acquired MRSA,” Garner said. “It’s happening to people who are completely healthy and it’s often you! ng adults and children. It’s a skin infection that can be seriou s and even life-threatening if not treated properly.”
Garner said the bacteria often gets transmitted from person to person through close contact. He said locker rooms are a common place to spread the bacteria because people may be sharing towels or clothing.
“It’s clearly out there in the community getting transmitted from person to person,” he said. “It happens through close personal contact if you’re not being careful about hygiene.”
Garner said the hospital, with campuses in New Britain and at Bradley Memorial in Southington, has not made any changes recently because of the MRSA situation around the state, but said it does follow recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He said precautions would be taken if a patient is infected or if there is colonization of the organism on the skin or in the nose.
Anyone going into that patient’s room would be required to wear! gloves or a gown and that patient would either be placed in a private room or would share a room with another patient infected with the
bacteria.
Cathy Ligi, infection control program manager at Mid State Medical Center, in Meriden, said many cases in the past have been associated with young athletes because of the direct contact with others who may have the bacteria.
“There’s more of an association of community-acquired MRSA in the real contact sports in high schools and youth settings,” she said. “There is direct skin-to-skin contact, skin abrasions, sharing towels and the organism can definitely work its way from one person to another. The protective measures are there for a reason and they work if people follow them.”
“The prevention strategies are your basic things,” she said. “It’s common-sense stuff when you think about it. I think there’s not as much attention on hygiene as in the past and this is going to be something that gets people’s attention.”
Beth Vumbaco, Meriden director of health and human services, said she’s received phone calls from city residents concerned about MRSA. In response, the health department will sponsor an educational meeting Thursday at 6 p.m. on the third floor of the Board of Education building at 22 Liberty St.
“It’s a way for us to provide some factual information for people with concerns,” Vumbaco said.
“The concern is understandable,” Vumbaco said. “We are confident that should there be a case locally, it would be under treatment through a private physician and we would take every precaution to make sure it does not spread.”
Gov. M. Jodi Rell sent a letter to school superintendents regarding the MRSA situation around the state on Oct. 18.
“The cases of MRSA have raised understandable concerns among school officials, students, teachers and parents,” Rell said in the letter. “To date, a small number of Connecticut school districts have reported cases, which have been widely covered in the media. As a result, your parents and teachers may have expressed concerns about student safety in your district and in schools statewide.”
David Bryant, principal of Lyman Hall High School, Wallingford, said parents have gotten a copy of Rell’s letter and it has also been given to the school’s teachers and athletic coaches.
“It’s really preventative stuff like washing hands,” he said. “The main thing I’ve been doing is trying to dispel some of the concerns kids had when they heard about this. “When they heard there were kids who had it, that got the rumor mill going wild so I was trying to settle that down,” Bryant said.
Bryant said there are no plans to do anything differently at the school, including in the school’s locker rooms.
“The building’s in good shape,” he said. “We’re always pretty vigilant about that.”
Greg Florio, superintendent of Cheshire schools, said no one has called with specific concerns, but the district is “certainly paying attention to it.”
“I think we’re basically following those standard operation procedures,” Florio said. “We haven’t seen a need at this point to do anything other than to stress the basics.”