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[No. 08] San Francisco, Calif.: Former Giants first baseman has learned that artificial turf can be an especially hospitable surface for staph bacteria. The following is from San Francisco Chronicle (November 2, 2008) as J.T. Snow, the former Giants first baseman -- “Among the things he's learned is that artificial turf can be an especially hospitable surface for staph bacteria. “I was told that (staph) can live there for a while,” he said. “And a lot of high schools in California are putting in that Sport Turf because it’s cheaper than grass. So you have to wonder if more kids are going to end up with the infections. It's crazy.” Source: Gwen Knapp, “Former Giant lost father to infection,” in San Francisco Chronicle, November 2, 2008, available at http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/11/01/SPFQ13SIKD.DTL .

[No. 07] Athletic Turf News: It appears more and more likely bacteria can be present in turf. On October 28, 2008, the editor-in-chief of Athletic Turf News, Ron Hall, published a piece in which he urged the professionals involved in the sale, marketing and management of artificial turf fields to come clean as to the potential for harm to athletes if precautions are not taken to minimize the risk of contracting staph infections by athletes playing on artificial turf fields. Naturally, the adoption and execution of an effective antibacterial program by managers and athletic departments adds to the maintenance or operations cost of turf fields, something that salesmen may be reluctant to raise with buyers for the fear of scuttling a sale.

The following are excerpts from Hall’s editorial on the subject: 

Not so well documented, at least not to the same extent, is the likelihood of

contracting a staph infection on synthetic turf, although it appears more and

more likely bacteria can be present there. There is evidence that this is the

case, although turf managers would welcome clearer evidence yet.

The explosion in the installation of synthetic turf sports fields this past

decade (between 800-1,000 will be built this coming year), has raised obvious

concerns about the presence of disease-causing bacteria on the surface of or

within the infill of synthetic fields. This concern has thrust sports turf

managers uncomfortably into the middle of the staph picture.

This is unfamiliar territory for professionals trained and more proficient at

maintaining turfgrass and repairing clay infields.

Not only must sports field managers learn how to maintain synthetic turf that

often receive 5-10 times more activity than turfgrass fields, they're also

charged with making the decision or asked their opinion of whether or not to

treat synthetic fields with a product to kill bacteria.

Providing safe conditions for the athletes that use their facilities is their

number one responsibility, after all.

This has been a tough call for them in light of budget pressures and exaggerated

expectations of maintenance cost savings associated with synthetic turf fields.

Adding to the difficulty of deciding whether or not to treat is uncertainty

about the relative risk of contracting a staph infection (including the more

serious MSRA) on synthetic fields.

Even so, increasing numbers of professional teams and universities, in

particular, have decided that the risk, whatever it is, is too great to ignore.

In almost all cases, they treat all the surfaces that athletes come in contact

with — both inside and outside as staph can be carried from one surface to

another.

These high-profile and well-funded programs generally contract a professional

service that applies a product specifically formulated to kill bacteria.

Are these treatments warranted? Are they necessary? Are they worth the cost?

These sports entities obviously think they are, and they figure the cost of

treatment into the very real ongoing costs of maintaining synthetic turf.

But, let's go back to the case of the Cleveland Browns who suffered a rash of

serious infections. While several of them have reportedly been traced back to

hospitals following surgical procedures, others have not, and are presumed to

have been contracted elsewhere, perhaps the team's training camp?

The question sports field managers must ask themselves, in light of the

experience of the [Cleveland] Browns and, several years early, the NFL St. Louis Rams that had similar problems with staph, is whether they should be concerned with

bacterial infections on synthetic turf?

In light of the seriousness of the problem, the answer is yes.

Synthetic turf playing surfaces require regular maintenance, which includes

cleaning and now treatment to eliminate the likelihood of infections.

Sports field managers must convince the people that they report to that there

are equipment needs and real costs involved with maintaining synthetic turf

fields, including the added cost of protecting against bacterial infections.

The number one responsibility of sports field managers, after all, is the safety

of the athletes using their fields.

Source: Ron Hall, “Why we shouldn’t take chance with staph,” in Athletic Turf News, October 28, 2008, available at http://www.athleticturf.net/athleticturf/Press+Box/Why-we-shouldnt-take-chances-with-staph/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/561573?contextCategoryId=3225

[No. 06] The Silent Fall – Reemergence of MRSA. By Guive Mirfendereski, SynTurf.org, Newton, Mass. October 3, 2008. With frightening regularity – as predictable as the tuning of the leaves at this time of the year – MRSA is back in the headlines.

On September 28, 2008, Staph infection took the life of Alonso Smith, an 18-year old, a starting linebacker on Liberty High School (Kissimmee, Florida) football team.

On September 23, 2008, MRSA snuffed out Saalen Jones, a 17-year old football player at Martin Luther King High School in Philadelphia. According to his father, Jones “had a turf burn – a common football abrasion – on his stomach,” reported Associated Press. In another report about the silent fall of this youngster, Dr. Mike Cirigliano, Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, said “I'm told by published reports that there was some abrasion on the skin with what was called a turf burn. And I think that one can then say that he was playing football, he may have contracted it from another player or some athletic equipment or just in the locker room.”

Kyle Audette is lucky to be alive. This linebacker and co-captain of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy came down with MRSA in September 2007. His harrowing ordeal is chronicled in a piece in The Boston Globe (October 3, 2008). The author of the piece, Barbara Matson, does not say of Audette’s infection set in an abrasion suffered on the field. But it is clear from the article that turf-related abrasion may have been suspected as the culprit. “Football players,” wrote Matson, “may be particularly susceptible [to Staph bacteria] because of frequent abrasions caused by artificial turf fields.” According to the story, after his return to the field several months later, Audette “at first wore high socks and arm guards to protect himself, and others, but a razzing from spectators during the game at New York maritime put him back in regulation short socks and gear.”

Sources: “High school football player dies from MRSA,” on News 13 (Central Florida), October 2, 2008, available at http://www.cfnews13.com/News/Local/2008/10/1/high_school_football_player_dies_from_mrsa.html ; 

[No. 05] Baltimore (Maryland): Morgan State Football Coach makes connection between turf field and higher incidence of MRSA among his players. On August 18, 2008, Baltimore Convention Center was host to “Strike Out Infection,” part of national campaign captained by the Boston red Sox manager, Terry Francona, and underwritten by Covidien Ltd, a health-care product company. In a news report by The Baltimore Sun, Donald Hill, the football coach of Morgan State University (Baltimore, Maryland) is quoted at length about his efforts last year to stamp out staph infection among his players.

Hill said, “I’d seen maybe one or two staph infections in all my time in football. But three years ago, we put down a new synthetic turf on our football field, and we began to have three to four cases a week.” In response, Hill disinfected the showers, disinfected the equipment, made sure the uniforms were washed daily and still he could not stop the infections from occurring. “We went from hugging to a nice wave,” Hill said, “Players didn’t want to touch each other. It wasn’t until our trainer, Todd Smith, said he was going to try to disinfect the field that we got it under control.” “Athletes are prime candidates for the infection because they come in contact with artificial surfaces that retain germs, they share exercise equipment, showers and locker rooms, and when on the field or court, they come in contact with other players,” according to the Baltimore Sun. Source: Sandra McKee, “Campaign steps up to bat to stop staph infections,” in The Baltimore Sun, August 19, 2008, available at  http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/baseball/bal-sp.infection19aug19,0,7336901.story .

[No. 01] Texas high school football and Staph infections.
In the annals of athletic- related Staph infections a few names stand out. The story of one such person, Boone Baker, a high school varsity football player, is one that could have turned easily into a requiem. He survived his infection last year. Yet, his story keeps turning up in accounts of how turf burn could contribute to higher incidence of Staph infection. See for example, a “Field of Nightmares,” in Texas Monthly, vol. 34, issue 5 (Austin: May 2006), reproduced at http://www.synturf.org/seriousquestionsask.html. Now comes a news article by Victor Epstein in which he examines the relationship between turf and Staph infections, beginning with Boone’s story.
According to Epstein, “Texas has artificial turf at 18 percent of its high school football stadiums, according to Web site Texasbob.com. It also has an MRSA infection rate among players that is 16 times higher than the estimated national average, according to three studies by the Texas Department of State Health Services.”
“At least 276 football players were infected with MRSA from 2003 through 2005, a rate of 517 for each 100,000, according to the Texas studies. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta reports a rate for the general population of 32 in 100,000. Football players often become infected at the site of a turf burn and are misdiagnosed, said David Smith, co-author of a study showing that MRSA-related hospitalizations in the U.S. more than doubled from 1999 to 2005.”
“’The turf burns themselves are just the kind of minor skin injury that MRSA can exploit,’'' said Elliot Pellman, medical liaison for the National Football League, which also has had infections among its players." 
“Football also produces more MRSA infections than any other sport, said Marilyn Felkner, the epidemiologist who led the Texas studies. The department wasn't able to obtain enough data to establish a statistical link between artificial turf and MRSA infections, she said.”
“Spreading MRSA can be prevented by frequent hand washing, covering scratches and turf burns, disinfecting whirlpools between uses, and not sharing towels or razors, the Texas health department advises.”
Source: Victor Epstein, “Texas Football Succumbs to Virulent Staph Infection from Turf,” in Bloomberg News, December 21, 2007, available at  http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=alxhrJDn.cdc.