Police officers are exposed to MRSA because their jobs bring them into frequent physical contact with all of the high risk groups which have been identified as carriers of MRSA. Police can touch contaminated body parts during provision of medical care, during searches, arresting of suspects, and taking samples. Fire and police are regularly exposed to saliva, vomit, feces, urine, and blood. Because police officers frequently encounter the populations who are spreading MRSA, staff screening is recommended.

A Center for Disease Prevention and Control report concluded that the emergence of MRSA as a cause of inmate skin and soft tissue infections presents a challenge to correctional facilities and that the potential public health impact of MRSA disease transmission in correctional facilities is substantial. In addition to jails and prisons, homeless shelters are also sources of MRSA exposure and outbreaks. Additionally, there is a high rate of MRSA among drug users. Even drug paraphernalia such as crack pipes can potentially have MRSA bacteria on it. Additionally, injections sites of drug users may contain MRSA .

Since police respond to accident scenes and provide emergency medical assistance before paramedis or EMS arrive, they are subjected to additional risks correlated to both firefighters and paramedics. A University of Washington study concluded that first responders are at the crossroads between the public and hospital environments and that their job includes administering first-response care to patients, many of whom are more likely to be MRSA carriers or have MRSA infections then the general population. This puts first responders at increased risk for MRSA infections.

The International Association of Fire Fighters has stated that it considers MRSA to be a serious threat to emergency healthcare responders and the Center for Disease Control (CDC) reports that deaths from MRSA now exceed those caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the United States! VITAL OXIDE kills MRSA, Acinetobacter, and other potentially deadly organisms...shouldn't your police station or correctional facility be implementing a DAILY sanitation protocol that kills 99.999% of all blood borne pathogens and bacteria?

Firefighters and medics may be, perhaps not surprisingly, at a higher risk for carrying methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) than the average person, according to results from a new study conducted by Marilyn Roberts, a University of Washington professor of environmental and occupational health sciences. Roberts, a microbiologist, recently conducted the first-ever environmental health study on MRSA in Northwest fire stations and on fire personnel to determine the extent of related contamination.

In the last ten years, the number of hospital- and community-acquired MRSA infections—those often contracted in schools, public gyms, and in workplaces--has risen. Because MRSA can be transmitted from surfaces to people and from person to person, the increase in incidence has led to concern for first responders, including police, firefighters and emergency medical personnel. Fire personnel interact with both hospital and community populations as part of their job and have the potential to be exposed to MRSA as part of their daily duties.

"Firefighters and paramedics are at the crossroads between the public and hospital environments," said Roberts. "Their job includes administering first-response care to patients, many of whom are more likely to be MRSA carriers or have MRSA infections then the general population. This puts them at increased risk for MRSA infections."

The International Association of Fire Fighters has stated that it considers MRSA to be a serious threat to emergency healthcare responders and the Center for Disease Control (CDC) reports that deaths from MRSA now exceed those caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the United States! VITAL OXIDE kills MRSA, Acinetobacter, and other potentially deadly organisms...shouldn't your fire station or medical facility be implementing a DAILY sanitation protocol that kills 99.999% of all blood borne pathogens and bacteria?

A research study published in the Prehospital Emergency Care Journal assessed for the presence of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) in an ambulance fleet of 21 vehicles. The research found MRSA contamination in 10 of 21 ambulances. Some of the areas that tested positive for MRSA growth were the steering wheel, left patient stretcher handrail, patient stretcher cushion, work area to the right of the patient, and the yankauer suction tip. The authors concluded, the ambulance environment may be significantly contaminated with MRSA and that the EMS system could represent an important reservoir in the transmission of MRSA to patients. As an emergency medical services provider, you are at risk of becoming a MRSA carrier and bringing MRSA home to your family.

Since Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel are frequently the first level of healthcare that is provided to traumatically injured patients, they or their equipment could come into contact with open wounds or patients at high risk for infection. If the EMS personnel are colonized on their skin or their equipment contaminated with MRSA, they could serve as the entry point for MRSA to these susceptible patients.

"...Paramedics are at the crossroads between the public and hospital environments...Their job includes administering first-response care to patients, many of whom are more likely to be MRSA carriers or have MRSA infections then the general population. This puts them at increased risk for MRSA infections."
- Marilyn Roberts, Microbiologist - Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences - University of Washington