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Staph At The Gym? Not If You're Cautious

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By ABBY ELLIN, The New York Times

Published: November 4, 2007

The news has been scary: A virulent strain of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, a staph bacterium usually associated with hospitals and nursing homes, has been surfacing in other settings. In the last month, schools across the country have reported outbreaks, some of them deadly.

The infection can be spread by a shared towel, razor or piece of sports equipment, or through skin-to-skin contact.

This may have fitness enthusiasts wondering whether they can contract MRSA at a gym. Health officials say yes, although the risk is low. Staph grows rapidly in warm, moist environments, but could potentially live on surfaces such as the grips of exercise machines.

"It's still a healthy thing to work out, but people need to make sure they don't have any open sores on their body, and if they do, to keep them covered," said Kent Aftergut, an assistant clinical instructor of dermatology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. He has treated about a half-dozen patients who say they contracted staph at the gym.

Rachel Gorwitz, a medical epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, said 25 percent to 30 percent of the general population carries staph in the nose (only 1 percent carry MRSA), but it normally does not cause an infection.

Rosemary Lavery, a spokeswoman for the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association, an industry group, said she was not aware of any cases of MRSA originating in health clubs, nor was Gorwitz.

But, Gorwitz said, her agency has seen it among football teams, in military training facilities, shelters and prisons. Unlike gyms, those settings have things in common that could facilitate the spread, like crowding and burns caused by artificial turf, she said.

Cases of MRSA in gyms would be hard to track because the germ has a long incubation period, and most states' public health laws require only doctors, labs and hospitals to report outbreaks, with some requiring nursing homes to do so.

Most of the bigger fitness chains said they hadn't overhauled cleaning policies in light of the recent news. They said their branches were adhering to business as usual, which includes making hand sanitizer or wipes available, spraying down equipment twice a day and providing loads of clean towels.

Practices can vary. Glen Tobias, a fitness club owner in the New York City area, said his clubs were doing additional sanitizing of mats and equipment and providing extra hand cleaner.

Cases of MRSA are easy to prevent, health experts say. Aftergut suggests either sanitizing fitness equipment or putting a towel over the bars. Other suggestions include washing hands often, using your own yoga mat, showering with flip-flops and using multiple towels if they are being used to wipe down machines.

"Don't stay in hot sweaty clothes that can be a perfect breeding ground for bacteria," he said. "Antibacterial soap is probably not a bad idea, either."

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