Despite dominating headlines across the country last week, the risk of drug-resistant staph infections is minor – especially at Northwestern, where no cases have been reported, said Dr. Donald Misch, executive director of NU Health Service.

“The hype is grossly out of proportion to the risk,” Misch said.

MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) is a relatively common bacteria that nearly one-third of people carry in their nose or on their skin. Infections occur when the germ enters the body through broken skin. Usually, the result is a skin-deep lesion (like a pimple or an abscess) that can be treated relatively easily with strong antibiotics. Rarely, though, staph invades the bloodstream and can cause organ failure and death.

At least five K-12 schools in the Chicago area underwent heavy-duty cleaning last week after administrators discovered drug-resistant staph infections among students, according to the Chicago Tribune. Fewer than 15 cases were reported and none resulted in death. The Illinois Department of Public Health sent guidelines to schools for preventing the spreading of the germ.

Preventing an infection is relatively simple, Misch said – wash hands thoroughly with soap and water, and keep cuts and scrapes clean, covered and dry. Students shouldn’t share personal items like bars of soap, towels or razors, Misch said.

Athletes are more likely to get a staph infection because they’re often injured during play and expose open wounds to shared equipment, like wrestling mats, Misch said.

NU athletics staff is discussing more ways to keep MRSA contained, such as completely disinfecting locker rooms, said Bill Jarvis, NU’s equipment room manager. They already clean equipment thoroughly to stop the spread of other communicable diseases, he said.

“Especially with contact sports like wrestling and football, where there can be lots of cuts and scrapes, we make sure to disinfect everything,” Jarvis said.

Practice clothes, uniforms and towels are washed after every use, and when contagious diseases like ringworm are reported, afflicted students’ laundry is washed separately. Equipment staff also wash the Willie the Wildcat costume after every wear.

“We’re always cautious and proactive to keep our athletes as safe as possible,” Jarvis said.

Students should head to Searle Hall if they notice a skin infection that doesn’t heal, Misch said. NU Health Service staff will test the wound to see if drug-resistant staph is present, and then prescribe antibiotics and sometimes drain pus from the wound. Students should never try to squeeze a lesion themselves.

You’d know if the staph got into your bloodstream, Misch said, because “you’d be sick as hell.” Invasive MRSA infections present severe symptoms such as high fever and chills that get progressively worse. Students should go to the hospital immediately if symptoms appear.

Loyola University Medical Center announced Monday they would begin testing all incoming patients for MRSA. The Evanston Northwestern Healthcare system was the first hospital network in the country to test all patients for MRSA in 2005 and has since cut infections by 60 percent, according to Jennifer Mitchell, the system’s media relations director.

MRSA isn’t a new infection; the first case appeared in 1968. But the germ, which used to affect mostly hospital patients with weakened immune systems, is increasingly found in healthy people outside the healthcare system, according to a study published last week by the Journal of the American Medical Association. After these results were released, attention was drawn to several staph cases across the country. A Kentucky school district closed all 23 of its schools Monday for cleaning after one student was infected.

The bacteria has gotten stronger over the years as it developed resistance against penicillin-based antibiotics once used to treat it. Misch said many antibiotics are prescribed unnecessarily.

“Patients push very hard to get antibiotics, and we struggle to tell them these drugs aren’t always warranted,” Misch said. “Every antibiotic you don’t need contributes to drug resistance,” Misch said. “Germs and humans have gotten along for years. … The last thing we want to do is eliminate them all.”

Reach Sarah Sumadi at [email protected].