Protecting Your Facility During “Superbug” Season
By Lynda Lurie, marketing manager, Clorox Professional Products Company

“Superbug” season is here and the need for facility managers to protect their staff and visitors from the spread of bacteria is real. The recent outbreak at a public high school in Boston , where four students were diagnosed with Community-Associated MRSA staph infections, is just one illustration of the need for careful and consistent cleaning and disinfection.

The most virulent of the antibiotic-resistant bacteria are CRKP and MRSA. CRKP, carbapenem-resistant klebsiella pneumoniae, is found almost exclusively in healthcare settings where it tends to attack the elderly . MRSA (methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureas) on the other hand, is a type of Staph bacteria on the skin and in the nose that is found in two types: the more common healthcare-associated strain and the less-frequent and newer Community-Associated strain, contracted by otherwise healthy people outside of a healthcare setting. Community-Associated MRSA is a newer type of MRSA and the one primarily causing outbreaks among otherwise healthy people in schools, sports and fitness facilities and locker rooms.