New Study Finds MRSA on the Rise in Hospital Outpatients - RWJF

The community-associated strain of the deadly superbug MRSA—an infection-causing bacteria resistant to most common antibiotics—poses a far greater health threat than previously known and is making its way into hospitals, according to a study in the December issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases. The new threat is easily picked up in fitness centers, schools, and other public places and has increased the overall burden of MRSA within hospitals, the report found.

The study, which analyzed data from more than 300 microbiology labs serving hospitals all over the United States, found a seven-fold increase in newer “community-associated” strains of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, in outpatient hospital units between 1999 and 2006. According to study authors, this increase threatens hospital safety because many hospitals share their resources, such as surgical sites, or have doctors or patients that move back and forth between the different areas of the hospital.
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