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Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 The researchers found that 46.3 of every 1,000 patients had active MRSA, which is eight to 11 times higher that previously estimated.
The report, the National Prevalence Study of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in U.S. Healthcare Facilities, was released Monday.
In contrast, one 2005 study, by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, estimated the MRSA infection rate at about 3.9 per 1,000 patients.
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"Patients need to be aware of their risk of infection," said Kathy Warye, chief executive officer of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, which sponsored the study.
"If they have any underlying disease, such as diabetes or a heart condition, and it is likely they will be going into a health care facility, they should speak with their physician about the risks they may be encountering," Warye said.
In addition, patients need to be assertive in making sure that the staff follows proper infection-control procedures, Warye said.
Jarvis said that basic steps can be taken to curb the rising rate of infection.
First, patients who are most at risk for MRSA need to be identified and tested, he said. Patients who are infected need to be placed in isolation. In addition, health care workers need to follow proper procedures to prevent the spread of MRSA, including washing their hands and disinfecting the environment around the patient.
"Indiscriminate use of antibiotics in both hospitalized and outpatients is part of this problem," Katz added. "So is failure by patients to complete courses of antibiotics as prescribed. And perhaps an even greater influence is the widespread use of antibiotics in feed animals," which also creates resistant strains, he said.
"Having advanced medicine with the introduction of antibiotics, we cannot let it regress by allowing the drugs to become useless. Policies to curtail the spread of resistant germs are urgently needed," Katz said.
More information
For more information on MRSA, visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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