CDC Releases Numbers On Drug-Resistant Staph Infections, Politicians Propose Reporting Systems

Precautionary disinfection at a
Chicago High School. Source: AP

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently reported that 25 to 30 percent of the U.S. population carries the staph bacteria methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, which was for responsible for more than 94,000 life-threatening infections and 19,000 deaths in 2005. MRSA is resistant to drug treatment and is responsible for more deaths in the United States each year than AIDS, according to CNN.

Healthy people can also carry the bacteria, which lives on their skin or in their noses. Most drug-resistant staph cases are mild skin infections, but severe infections can enter the bloodstream and become deadly.

Close on the heels of the CDC report came the announcement of the tragic death of 12-year-old Omar Rivera. The incident, along with the CDC findings, has prompted the health community to re-evaluate how individuals develop the deadly staph infections and how to better treat and manage the infections.

In response, Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) called for the creation of a national reporting system for the drug-resistant staph infection. Schumer said on October 28 that he wants to develop legislation that will require hospitals and other institutions to keep more rigorous records of the frequency of MRSA infections. He also expressed that he is working to promote research into the overuse of antibiotics, which may lead to the developments of dangerous drug-resistant bacteria. Other government officials have called for similar legislation this week, including Virginia Governor Tim Kaine and Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell.

The CDC report found that “about 85 percent of all invasive MRSA infections were associated with health care settings, of which two–thirds surfaced in the community among people who were hospitalized, underwent a medical procedure or resided in a long–term care facility within the previous year,” according to the press release. It went on to note: “The 2005 rates of invasive infection were highest among people 65 years of age or older. Black people were affected at twice the rate of whites, which could be due to higher rates of chronic illness among blacks.”

Tags: CDC, medicine

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