Protecting Athletes

Reported September 2007

Rochester Hills, Mich. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- More than 130,000 Americans contract a potentially fatal staph infection called MRSA every year. It's increasingly common among young, healthy athletes. Now, a new high-tech system could put an end to bacteria lurking in the locker room.

Antibiotics work for some, but many MRSA strains are resistant to drugs.

"If it spreads into your system, it can go from your skin level into the tissue, into the organ level and it can actually kill you," Rod Walters, athletic trainer from the University of South Carolina, says.

MRSA spreads through skin contact, clothing and even showers, putting athletes in close quarters at high risk.

"We’re not trying to create a crisis or a fear among the people, but hey, if it's there, we have to deal with it," Walters says.

A new anti-microbial system offers a promising solution. The Sports Aide spray-on system instantly bonds to surfaces in locker rooms, weight rooms, training rooms and even bathrooms.

"There is a puncture of the cell membrane and within that sword, there is a nitrogen atom that electrocutes, to finally, totally eliminate that bacteria," Craig Andrews, CEO of the Coating Specialists Group, says.

It destroys bacteria, so it's impossible for it to become resistant. The system works 24 - 7 on treated areas for up to three years, letting athletes focus on competitors on the field, not in the locker room.

More than 100 sports complexes from professional to high school teams around the country have been treated with the Sports Aide system. The company also manufactures fabric softener athletes and parents can use to keep uniforms bacteria-free for up to 30 washes.

The American Society for Microbiology contributed to the information contained in the TV portion of this report.

Click here to Go Inside This Science or contact:

Coatings Specialist Group
Rochester Hills, Michigan
(888) 510-2847

American Society for Microbiology
Washington, DC 20036-2904
(202) 737-3600
http://www.asm.org

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