1.2 Million U.S. Patients Get Resistant Staph Each Year

Basic infection control can help stop the deadly bug, experts say

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter

Related Encyclopedia • Abscess • Actinomycosis • Acute Myeloid Leukemia (Adult) • AIDS and HIV Infection More... Related Healthscout Videos Fighting HIV and AIDS: New Research Hospitals Going High-Tech Fighting HIV Video Interview: Dr. Atul Gawande on the Role of Patients in Improving Medical Care More... Related Animations • Asthma More... Related Drug Information • Abilify • Advair Diskus • Augmentin • Bactroban Cream More... Related News Articles • Measle's Spread Doesn't Depend on Airways • Worldwide War Deaths Underestimated • Most Asthmatics Aren't Getting Flu Shot • A Healthy Mind Can Help Fight HIV More...

MONDAY, June 25 (HealthDay News) -- As many as 1.2 million U.S. hospital patients may be infected each year with a virulent staph infection that's resistant to antibiotics -- a rate almost 10 times greater than previous estimates, a new study finds.

The research, conducted by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, also found that as many as 119,000 hospital patients each year may die from the tough-to-treat strain of bacterium, called methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The germ is spread by touch and can lead to dangerous skin infections, blood infections and pneumonia.

Text Continues Below

---

"This is a wakeup call that hospital administrators should understand the importance of this problem," said report author Dr. William Jarvis, an epidemiologist and president of the consulting firm, Jason and Jarvis Associates.

The rate of MRSA was higher than previously been estimated, Jarvis said. "Not only did we find MRSA in all states in all facilities, but 66 percent of it was on the medical service, which runs counter to previous beliefs that most MRSA was in intensive care units," he added.

One expert agreed that more needs to be done to fight this looming threat.

"In the early years of the 21st century, we are seeing the value of antibiotics decline as more and more germs become resistant to them," said Dr. David Katz, the director of the Prevention Research Center at Yale University School of Medicine. "Methicillin resistant Staph aureus is one important example of this trend," he said.

The findings were based on surveys sent to 10,000 nurses, doctors, and other infection-control practitioners and included data on almost 8,000 infected patients from every state. More than 1,200 health care facilities -- 21 percent of the nation's total -- were included in the survey.

Page:  1 | 2 | Next >>