“We are on the brink of a potential state and national public health outbreak, and we must proactively take on this new antibiotic-resistant bug which is now in the healthy, not immune-compromised, population,” said Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn). In response to public health alerts issued by the CDC and the NYS Health Department, Assemblyman Dov Hikind and State Senator Carl Kruger (D-Brooklyn) are introducing legislation requiring all schools, private, parochial and public, to post signage in bathrooms, gyms, locker rooms, etc. directing students how to prevent the spread of this contagion. “This community-associated superbug poses a threat to healthy individuals, and we must take adequate and appropriate action now to protect the health of all New Yorkers.”

“A recent article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association estimated that 90,000 Americans get potentially deadly infections each year from the drug-resistant staph ‘superbug,’ and deaths from these infections may exceed AIDS fatalities,” said Senator Kruger.  “Studies have also shown that one of the best ways to prevent the spread of drug-resistant staph is through the simple yet underused hygienic procedure of hand-washing. This legislation will go a long way toward assuring that New Yorkers are vigilant about this serious and increasing public health crisis,” Sen. Kruger added.
 
“The Director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Maimonides Medical Center Dr. Edward Chapnick will be at the conference. “The problem is growing. It is treatable and mostly preventable with common sense measures,” explains Chapnick.
 
Councilman Bill De Blasio (D-Brooklyn), who joined Hikind and Kruger at a press conference announcing the legislation, said, “We can help prevent the spread of drug-resistant staph by washing our hands properly. Each of us can do our own part to avoid an epidemic by educating our youth on the importance of proper hygiene.”
 
“The CDC is very specific in its advisory to prevent this virulent infection that has been striking healthy children and adolescents,” says Hikind. The CDC instructs: Keep your hands clean by washing thoroughly with soap and water or using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer; Keep cuts and scrapes clean and covered with a bandage until healed; Avoid contact with other people’s wounds or bandages; Avoid sharing personal items such as towels or razors.
 
“The directive is clear and the millions of students in our schools need to be clear about what to do so New York does not have a preventable epidemic,” says Hikind. “This nasty staph bug can prove deadly even for young, healthy individuals. According to the NYS Department of Health, ‘We recognize that MRSA (Methicillin resistant staph aureus) is an increasing public health problem.’ SHOW MRSA, NO MERCY!  We need to reduce the risk to our student population, with a public health education campaign. Correct signage is critical and that is why we are introducing this legislation.”