Sports Safety IQ tip of the day to parents and coaches: If your kids are playing on synthetic turf, you need to be extra vigilant about monitoring, cleaning and covering abrasions, turf-burns and other cuts they may get from being raked across the surface while playing. There is an ongoing debate about whether MRSA bacteria can survive on synthetic turf and be passed from player to player through open wounds common to athletes.
A new article "Texas Football Succumbs to Virulent Staph Infection from Turf" on Bloomberg.com makes a strong case for the link between MRSA found in football players in Texas and the synthetic turf fields on which they play. According to studies done with the help of the University of Texas, football players are more likely to be infected with MRSA than players in any other sport. This study makes a correlation between the high percentage of turf fields in Texas and the high rate of MRSA among its football players -- more than 16 times greater than the national average.
Other studies have been done recently with mixed results. Researchers at Penn State University failed to prove that MRSA can exist on synthetic turf, while an independent testing lab in Midland, MI confirmed the presence of MRSA on synthetic turf at an unnamed university where they performed their research.
The epidemic spread of MRSA, and the alarming fact that it causes more deaths than any disease currently tracked by the Centers for Disease Control, has sports organizations from the NFL to local high schools scurrying for solutions for prevention and treatment. If MRSA does thrive on synthetic turf, can it can be killed with disinfectants and other cleaning solutions? What are the repercussions of those treatments to players, as well as to the surfaces themselves?
Until these questions can be answered and a new protocol established for maintaining turf fields, parents, coaches and players should follow the basic guidelines for MRSA prevention outlined in my earlier post, "Scary News about MRSA Superbugs" -- mainly, wash your hands, keep cuts and wounds covered and don't share personal items. And parents of athletes who play on turf should continue to be extra cautious with any cuts or scrapes that 'just don't look right.' No one can afford to ignore a potential MRSA infection.
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