New CDC Campaign to Combat MRSA

It is estimated that 12% of clinical methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections are now community- associated.¹ To combat the rising incidence of such infections, last month the CDC launched a new national campaign.

Recognizing that patient education is a critical component of MRSA prevention and management, the CDC has made parents the chief target of its campaign. "Well-informed parents are a child's best defense against MRSA and other skin infections," said Rachel Gorwitz, MD, a CDC pediatrician and medical epidemiologist.

To reach parents, the National MRSA Education Initiative is using Web sites and banners, fact sheets, brochures, posters, radio and print public service announcements, mom blogging sites, and mainstream media interviews. In all these media, emphasis is placed on assisting parents in teaching children to recognize the signs and symptoms of MRSA skin infections, helping children to keep cuts and scrapes clean and covered with a bandage, and encouraging good hand washing and general hygiene.

The posters, brochures, flyers, and fact sheets (Figure) that have been created for the campaign are available at http://www.cdc.gov/mrsa/mrsa_initiative/ skin_infection/educat_materials.html. They can be easily downloaded and printed for display and distribution in your office or waiting room.

Figure