by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Two firefighters were being treated yesterday for the antibiotic-resistant staph infection known as MRSA, a fire department spokesman said.
The firefighters, whose identities weren't released, had been reassigned temporarily to administrative duties, Fire Department of New York spokesman Jim Long said.
The more recent of the two new MRSA cases was in October, bringing to seven the number of cases in the fire department since last year, Long said. The other five fire department employees have been treated and have returned to work, he said. The seven work at different firehouses throughout the city.
The fire department didn't immediately have the number of MRSA infections from a comparable period before the seven recent cases but wasn't alarmed by them, Long said.
Recently, city health officials have been trying to calm fears among the public, particularly parents, after several publicized cases of the potentially deadly infection in schools, including the death of a 12-year-old Brooklyn boy in October.
Serious cases of the infection usually are related to hospitals or other health care centers and involve people with existing health problems, health officials say. In people who are otherwise healthy, MRSA infections usually heal on their own or with treatment.
MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, is usually transmitted skin-to-skin or by sharing items or surfaces that have come into contact with an infected person, such as towels or bandages, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Following the most recent fire department case, fire and health officials reminded firefighters not to share hygienic products such as towels and razors and to keep clean shared areas such as athletic equipment and furniture covers in firehouses, Long said.
In most firehouses, about a dozen firefighters live together while typically working two 24-hour shifts a week.
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