County of Los Angeles
Department of Public Health
Acute Communicable Disease Control
313 N. Figueroa Street, Room 212
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Phone: (213) 240-7941
Fax: (213) 482-4856
E-Mail:acdc2@ph.lacounty.gov

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"Staph" or Community-Associated Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CAMRSA) Information




MRSA in Los Angeles County

Summary of CA-MRSA Infections in Los Angeles County

• MRSA Most Common Cause of Skin and Soft-Tissue Infections in Major US Cities (Medscape, August 2006)
• Community Associated Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus: an Emerging Infectious Disease in Los Angeles County (The Public's Health, July/Aug 2005) Provides short summary of disease burden and includes clinical, epidemiological and laboratory hallmarks. Recommendations provided regarding treatment, decolonization, education, infection control and notification.
• Public Health Dispatch: Outbreaks of Community-Associated Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Skin Infections - Los Angeles County, California, 2002-2003 (MMWR Weekly, Feb. 7, 2003; also in The Public’s Health, Feb. 2003*) This report describes investigations of CA-MRSA in Los Angeles County.
• MRSA Outbreak in Los Angeles County: A Model of Response, Control, and Prevention (NACCHO Exchange, Summer 2003) Highlights of the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services’ experiences with simultaneous outbreaks of MRSA skin infections in its jail system, MSM population, a university athletic team, and a newborn nursery.

Radio Interviews on MRSA in LA County  (Requires Real Player)

• Health Officials Worried About New Staph Infection (Copyright KPCC Radio, Feb. 21, 2005) In part one of a three-part series, LA County health workers express concern over the rise in cases of MRSA, a new kind of staph infection.  Text version

• From Athletes to Prisoners: MRSA Impacts Diverse Groups (Copyright KPCC Radio, Feb. 22, 2005) Part two of a three-part series looks at who is getting MRSA, a new type of staph infection on the rise in LA County.  Text version

• MRSA Jail Outbreak Becomes Political, Health Problem (Copyright KPCC Radio, Feb. 23, 2005) In the last of a three-part series, politicians and community advocates pressure LA County jail officials to contain a new type of staph infection.  Text version

Correctional Facilities

• Press Release: Los Angeles County Public Health Officials Investigating Staph Infections Among County Jail Inmates (Jan. 30, 2003) Confirmation that LACounty Department of Health Services has been working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the [State of] California Department of Health Services in developing surveillance, treatment and control guidelines for MRSA at the Sheriff’s facilities.

• Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Infections in Correctional Facilities - Georgia, California, and Texas, 2001-2003 (MMWR Weekly, Oct 17., 2003) This report summarizes recent investigations of MRSA transmission among inmates of correctional facilities in Georgia, California, and Texas. Inadequate personal hygiene, barriers to medical care, and other factors contributed to transmission.

• Special Studies Report 2002: MRSA Outlook in Los Angeles County Jail System
  (See page 35 according to index)

Hospitalized Patients

• Community-associated Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus Isolates Causing Healthcare-associated Infections (Emerging Infectious Diseases, February 2007) Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is the most frequently identified antimicrobial drug–resistant pathogen in US hospitals.
• Community-Associated Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Infection Among Healthy Newborns - Chicago and Los Angeles County, 2004 (MMWR Weekly, March 31, 2006) This report describes two independent investigations by local health departments, assisted by CDC, into outbreaks of MRSA skin infection among otherwise healthy, full-term newborns delivered at hospitals in Chicago, Illinois, and LA County, California.
• Community-Acquired MRSA Skin/Soft Tissue Infection Rates Increasing. Community-Acquired Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (Medscape Medical News, March 2006) should be considered in the differential diagnosis of patients presenting with skin and soft tissue infections.
• Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Community-Acquired Skin Infections (Emerging Infectious Diseases, June 2005)
• A Prospective Investigation of Risk Factors for Community-Acquired MRSA in a Non-Outbreak Setting (Presentation to the Infectious Diseases Society of America's 2004 Conference) This study was conducted to identify the risk factors of patients hospitalized with MRSA.

Pediatric

• Community-Associated Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Infection Among Healthy Newborns - Chicago and Los Angeles County, 2004 (MMWR Weekly, March 31, 2006) This report describes two independent investigations by local health departments, assisted by CDC, into outbreaks of MRSA skin infection among otherwise healthy, full-term newborns delivered at hospitals in Chicago, Illinois, and LA County, California.

• Spider-bite Myths & Misdiagnosis of CA-MRSA by Pediatricians in L.A. County
  (The Public’s Health, Sep. 2003)* Immediate, accurate, and effective diagnosis and treatment is essential to limit the spread of CA-MRSA skin infections among children and their families.

• Community-Associated MRSA in Hospitalized Children: Results From Interim Analysis (The Public’s Health, Sep. 2003)* Immediate, accurate, and effective diagnosis and treatment is essential to limit the spread of CA-MRSA skin infections among children and their families.

• Pediatric MRSA Interim Reporting (The Public’s Health, May 2003) Background explanation of six-month reporting requirement.

• Physician's Letter: MRSA: A Reportable Disease in L.A. County (Apr. 22, 2003) Title 17 of the California Code of regulations (CCR) Section 2500 and clinical laboratories notice of six month requirement to report MRSA infections occurring in children <18.

• Press Release: County Department of Health Services Requests Physicians to Report MRSA Infections in Hospitalized Children (Apr. 22, 2003) Skin, soft tissue, and invasive MRSA infections occurring in hospitalized children <18 added to list of reportable diseases to enhance surveillance of this increasingly serious disease.

Athletes & Sports Teams

• Recurring Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus Infections in a Football Team (Emerging Infectious Diseases, April 2005)

• Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Infections Among Competitive Sports Participants - Colorado, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Los Angeles County, 2000-2003 (MMWR Weekly, Aug. 22, 2003) The potential of MRSA infections among sports participants; the need for health-care providers to be aware that skin and soft tissue infections occurring in these settings might be caused by MRSA; and the importance of implementing prevention measures by players, coaches, parents and school and team administrators.

Men Who Have Sex With Men

• Risk factors for community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus skin infections among HIV-positive men who have sex with men.
  (Clinical Infectious Diseases, May 15, 2005)

* The Public's Health can be automatically e-mailed to you (as a PDF document) each month. To subscribe, please visit http://www.publichealth.lacounty.gov/listserv and enter your e-mail address. Select "Department Newsletters" and then "The Public's Health." You are welcome to make copies of the newsletter.

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