BEHCHOKO/RAE-EDZO - Health officials say the territory's campaign against the spread of superbugs is making headway, especially in Behchoko.

Last year, 99 cases of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA), also known as a superbug, were reported in the territory. Forty-four of the infections were in the Tlicho community of Behchoko. The 2009 total showed the highest increase in MRSA cases in the territory's history, up from 64 cases in 2008 and 39 cases in 2007.

So far this year there have been 19 infections - five of which were in Behchoko. But there have been no new cases reported in the community since the end of January, said Wanda White, a communicable disease specialist with the Department of Health and Social Services.

"I think the campaign to reduce the transmission is working," White said.

As a result of the activity in 2009 the department felt that more public awareness was needed about MRSA, particularly the community associated form of the superbug. An awareness campaign specifically for the Tlicho was launched in December and an ongoing territory-wide campaign was refocused.

MRSA is a bacteria that commonly lives on the skin and has become resistant to basic antibiotics such as penicillin. The most common signs of MRSA are boils, cysts and wound infections. It can also lead to pneumonia, bone and blood infections and, rarely, flesh-eating disease. If left untreated it can become life-threatening.

MRSA is spread through direct physical contact with someone carrying the bacteria or objects that are contaminated. To treat MRSA doctors use more potent forms of antibiotics.

MRSA used to be more frequently found in hospitals and long term care facilities, so infections were associated with adults. With the rise of community associated MRSA a younger segment of the population is being affected including children under the age of 10, said White.

There have been three hospitalizations in the territory as a result of the outbreak, but to date there haven't been any deaths, White said.

"We've had some severe infections," she said.

The outbreak had people in Behchoko "very concerned," said Jim Martin, the chief executive officer of the Tlicho Community Services Agency.

He said MRSA was spreading primarily as a result of overcrowding, water scarcity and low-income situations in the community.

In a house where one person is infected, normal cleaning precautions are no longer enough, said Martin. Even sharing a bathroom towel becomes a problem if someone in a house has MRSA, he said.

To combat the spread of the bacteria, home care staff visited affected families to assist and educate them. In some cases the solution involved billing extra water deliveries to the agency so a household would have enough water to do more loads of laundry, said Martin.

In one case the agency bought a second-hand dryer for a family that didn't have one. The heat used in dryers is more effective at killing the bacteria than air drying laundry, Martin said. Kits of cleaning supplies were also given to affected households.

"We took the extra step and went into people's homes," Marin said.

The community really pulled together to combat MRSA transmission, said White. Everyone came into the health centre to get dressings on wounds changed and pick-up necessary medications.

Although there haven't been any new cases of the disease in Behchoko since the end of January Martin said he expects to see more infections in the coming months.

"We're not through the woods yet," he said. "It's a nasty bug. It's very persistent."

Health staff will be remaining vigilant, Martin said.

- With files from Adrian Lysenko