Answers in Genesis
Biology professor Dr. Alan Gillen published two research articles last fall
Dr. Alan Gillen, a professor of biology at Liberty University published two research articles last semester in Answers In Genesis about the changing trends in Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) over the past three school years at Liberty University. Along with the contribution of Michael Cargill, Jason Conrad and Rachel Walters, the articles discuss recent trends as well as the benefits of Staphylococcus aureus also known as staph.
Since 2013, more than 800 biology and nursing students have contributed to this research study through their participation in sample collection and a simple survey for any students who take Biology 203, 303 or 305. Gillen said in one of his articles that students in these courses have a “5 to 30 times higher MRSA carriage rate than the national average.”
“The reason that we have a higher reporting rate than the national average is that I believe we test more thoroughly,” Gillen said. “When the (Center for Disease Control) is reporting Healthcare Associated MRSA (HA-MRSA), they’re reporting it from select places, and they are not really sampling anything beyond the nose.”
Beyond testing both nostrils, Liberty students are also asked to take swabs underneath their armpits as well as participating in an anonymous survey, which may help point to the cause of MRSA carriage. When it comes to MRSA, there is no danger or threat unless there is a break in the skin where it can become invasive. This is another reason why the reporting rate at Liberty is higher than the national average. Most places do not report MRSA carriage unless it becomes invasive.
“One in three people in America at any given time are staph carriers, that’s staph aureus carriers,” Gillen said. “So, in a lifetime, literature says 85 percent of all Americans will carry staph aureus at some time or the other. So, it’s more common to carry it in your lifetime than it’s not.”
LABORATORY — More than 800 biology and nursing students have participated in the MRSA research study at Liberty. Above, Michael Cargill demonstrated an experiment. Photo credit: Matt Pierce
Over the past three years that Gillen has been studying MRSA, he has seen a shift between the different types of MRSA that are prevalent on campus.
“The surveys indicated the prevalence of HA-MRSA among nursing majors with clinical experience, while other carriers who lacked clinical experience typically harbored CA-MRSA,” Gillen said in a
research article.
Gillen attributes the rapid change with-in Community Associated MRSA (CA-MRSA) to what is known as the ping-pong phenomenon. Various strands of unique DNA are transferring between different hosts as MRSA carriers come in contact with people. Gillen believes that this is a possibility in close-knit dorms on campus or in other areas such as the gym and athletic facilities.
“As MRSA picks up more genes to survive against antibiotics it sacrifices some of its fitness (more foreign genes acquired results in slower growth) to survive in its environment,” Gillen said in a research article. “The new genes are a temporary beneficial change for the bacteria, an adaptation in order to survive in a hostile environment.”
Gillen is sure, through his study over the past three years and many years in the field of biology, that MRSA carriage is no greater threat on Liberty’s campus than it is anywhere else. Gillen claims the greatest prevention of MRSA is a thorough washing of the hands, using real soap and water, as well as Clorox disinfecting wipes.
“Don’t panic, but if you do find you have it, get it treated,” Cargill said. “It’s important people keep good hygiene.”
Gillen, with the help of some biology students as well as Dr. Randall Hubbard and Dr. Yingguang Liu, hopes to continue to do more research on the MRSA carriage topic at Liberty and how it can be further prevented.
PIERCE is a news reporter.