Bouncy castle launches horrifying MRSA outbreak, striking 48 kids in Ireland
The MRSA strain, called t016-ST22-MRSA-IV, has a unique pattern of antibiotic resistance; it could resist at least four drugs, including flucloxacillin, ciprofloxacin, gentamicin, and trimethoprim. Fortunately, there were others to which it was still susceptible, including clindamycin, tetracycline, fusidic acid, co-trimoxazole, and linezolid.
MRSA most often plagues healthcare settings, but it’s also known to spread in communities, such as in this case. So-called community-associated MRSA is often linked to crowded settings where people have close contact, such as sports activities, daycares, and prisons. The outbreak reported here was not only the largest MRSA outbreak ever recorded in Ireland, it was also the first known outbreak anywhere to be linked to bouncy castle use. The connection became more understandable during the official investigation.
Ideal conditions
After interviewing the families of the infected children, officials learned that most of the children played in the bouncy castles for multiple hours—some as long as...
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