Interviewed on Fox 45 – Staph and Schools

On Tuesday, I was interviewed for the morning news on Fox 45 in Baltimore for a quick bit pertaining to the recent furor over MRSA infections in schools. This is the first such experience I’ve had in a televised news interview segment, and things went rather well, considering that I was on-call the previous night, and was working on more caffeine than rest. The brief segment was focused on the question of what specifically should parents be doing to screen for MRSA infections in their children, and prevent such infections from occurring. At least for the next few weeks, you can check out the video of the segment here.

Here’s the bottom line from my piece: the most important thing that anyone can do to prevent spread of MRSA, as with other infections, such as influenza, is wash your hands with soap and water. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers are a good idea (MRSA is resistant to some antibiotics, but not to alcohol-based cleansers), especially as something portable to keep with you, for when hand-washing facilities are not readily available. The interviewer brought up some parental concerns about washing sheets daily, and looking their children over every evening for infected cuts or boils, which is clearly overkill for the general public. Again, common sense is important – in a sports or public exercise setting, towels should be used once and then laundered, and not shared. Injuries should be meticulously cared for, with bandages being changed regularly if soiled, and disposed of appropriately after use.

Obviously, I’m not expounding in any real detail on what MRSA is, and the current issues surrounding it – this is something I may do in the near future, depending on how things progress in the media. For now, I offer these excellent links: