What is the Health Protection Agency doing to ensure that PVL-positive MRSA does not become more widely spread?
At a local level, the Health Protection Units provide advice on infection control measures in the event of an incident or outbreak, as they do with other infectious diseases. Eradication of S. aureus organisms is not possible, because there are no vaccines and patients are often not sufficiently immune after an infection. At least a third of people carry S. aureus as part of their normal bacterial flora, living on their skin or mucous membranes and causing no harm. However, when infection with such strains occurs, basic infection control measures are effective in preventing spread and available antibiotics are effective against them. The Agency has published information to enable GPs and clinicians to recognise potential cases early and to then ensure that laboratory confirmation is obtained, treatment initiated early and infection control and hygiene advice implemented.
