STAPH INFECTION SPREADS IN COMMUNITY OUTBREAK OF RESISTANT STRAIN FIRST NOTICED IN COUNTY JAILS.

Byline: Troy Anderson Staff Writer

A highly contagious staph infection that flared through Los Angeles County jails is spreading rapidly in the community, and officials warned Monday it is a growing threat to public health.

The number of county jail inmates infected with the painful skin infection has quadrupled since 2002, from about 50 to more than 200 cases a month. More than 4,000 jail cases have been identified since the outbreak began, and the infection has now spread to the population at large, officials said.

``This is a growing problem,'' said Dr. Jonathan E. Fielding, the county's public health officer. ``We've seen it in hospitals, among sports teams, and physicians report seeing it to an increasing degree in their practices.

``It's the same bug we've seen before, but it's a strain that is now resistant to the most commonly used antibiotics.''

Margot Bach, spokeswoman for the California Department of Corrections, said cases of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus are increasing in the state prison system, as well.

``It's a pretty common occurrence,'' Bach said. ``What we've found is that a lot of inmates are coming from the county jails into the prisons with MRSA.''

MRSA, a more virulent strain of the antibiotic-resistant staph infection, begins as a skin condition, evolves into sores that resemble insect bites and progresses to painful boils and abscesses. In rare cases, if it infects the lungs or blood, it can cause life-threatening pneumonia.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the bacteria is spread by direct physical contact or by touching contaminated surfaces.

In the past three years, Los Angeles County supervisors have expressed frustration at the inability of county jail and health officials to control the spread of the disease, which has infected at least four jailers, as well as a jailer's newborn son.

The baby's parents have filed suit against the Sheriff's Department, claiming their son's health was endangered because of the county's negligence.

In an attempt to combat the disease, jail officials have trained deputies, required incoming inmates to watch a video on preventing the disease, increased clean bedding and clothing exchanges and encouraged inmates to take daily showers.

``We are trying to take every measure we can to identify it as early as possible and take remedial measures,'' said sheriff's Correctional Services Division Chief Chuck Jackson.

Officials are unsure if the outbreak began in the county jails or the community. Currently, 20 percent to 24 percent of jail inmates identified with the disease bring it from the community, up from 9 percent last year.

About 180,000 inmates cycle through the county's jails each year, with the current population of 17,500 inmates changing an average of every 44 days.

``There is no question people are leaving the jails and spreading it in the community,'' Fielding said. ``Certainly, there has been a lot of cases in the jails. But we can't say exactly where it started.''

Troy Anderson, [phone]

troy.anderson(at)dailynews.com

BACTERIA FACTS

Staph bacteria are commonly carried on the skin or in the nose of healthy people. They can cause a variety of mild and acute illnesses, from skin and bone infections to pneumonia.

The bacteria can be spread through direct and indirect physical contact, but not through the air. Serious infections are treated with antibiotics, although several strains of the bacteria have become increasingly resistant.

CAPTION(S):

box

Box:

BACTERIA FACTS (see text)