A new study, done by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, found that almost 5% of patients in hospitals and nursing homes are infected with a drug-resistant staph germ called Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).
This superbug cannot be cured by many different antibiotics. It is associated with severe skin infections, blood infections, and pneumonia and is spread by touch. The germ thrives in areas where many people have open wounds, such as hospitals.
Twenty one percent of inpatient health care facilities participated in the study. The survey discovered that at least 30,000 hospital patients are infected with the germ. It was found that 46 out of 1,000 patients had MRSA, 12 out of 1,000 patients were only “colonized” with the bug and no illness was present. These estimates are 8 to 11 times greater that what previous studies found.
Those in charge of the study think that 75% of patients walked into these facilities already infected with the bug because most patients who had it were identified within 48 hours of admission. This would not be enough time for the patients to be as infected with the bug as the tests showed. Patients either contracted the superbug in other facilities or in the community.
MRSA can be treated by some antibiotics and can be prevented from spreading by hand washing, equipment sterilization, and separating infected patients from non-infected patients.