People who swim at crowded public beaches are exposed to antibiotic resistant staph bacteria known as MRSA, according to a report presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Lisa Plano of the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine presented the research which focused on 1,303 people who all swam for 15 minutes at a beach in South Florida. The study found that 37 percent of swimmers came into contact with the microbe Staphylococcus aureus in the ocean water.
“Our study found that if you swim in subtropical marine waters, you have a significant chance, approximately 37 per cent of being exposed to 'Staph',” Lisa Plano was quoted as saying. The exposure might lead to infection by waterborne bacteria, including Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) which are shed from swimmers.
In recent years, researchers have found that germs causing outbreaks in ordinary community settings are becoming more and more resistant and they are posing a growing threat, causing far more illnesses than they did in the past.
The genetic analysis of the samples take from the water revealed that the majority of the Staphylococcus were harmless strains, while the majority of the isolated MRSA were those which were considered the most aggressive.
The team of scientists at the University of Miami who carried put the study concluded that the beach may be the source for “community-acquired” MRSA infections. They say that more studies are needed in order to characterize these risks that swimmers are exposed to.
About 95,000 serious infections with this type of bacteria occur in the United States each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
These bacteria are particularly dangerous because the antibiotics commonly prescribed to treat staph infections are not effective against MRSA. Drug-resistant strains can also cause a vicious type of pneumonia and even “flesh-eating” wounds.
Those with weakened immune system and children are at greater risk of acquiring the infection.
Infections by MRSA have become the most common cause of skin and soft tissue ailments in people who go to hospitals for care or in other community settings that involve skin-to-skin contacts. People can carry the bacteria on their skin or in their noses with no symptoms and in this way they can infect others without knowing.
To prevent this type of infection, the CDC recommends simple steps such as washing hands, taking care of your skin, avoid sharing personal products like towels or razors.
Professor Plano says there are some simple steps you can do to be sure you are protected on the beach such as “showering before going into the water to decrease the organisms you leave behind and showering when you leave the beach to decrease the organisms you have encountered.”
