by David Gutierrez
NewsTarget.com
January
15 2008
(NewsTarget) Nearly five percent of patients in U.S. hospitals may have acquired
a particular antibiotic resistant staph infection, according to a nationwide
survey conducted by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and
Epidemiology (APIC).
Researchers surveyed a total of 1,200 hospitals and other health care facilities
from all 50 states, and found 8,000 patients infected or colonized with
methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) -- or 46 out of every 1,000.
This suggests that up to 1.2 million
hospital patients across
the country may be infected every year.
Colonized patients are those who were found to be carrying the bacteria in or on
their bodies, but who had not showed any symptoms of disease.
"This rate is between eight and 11 times greater than previous
MRSA estimates," APIC wrote.
The majority of the
infections had originated within the medical facility; 67 percent arose in
patients being treated for general medical conditions (such as diabetes or
pulmonary or cardiovascular problems) and not in intensive care patients.
APIC recommended simple measures, such as hand washing, to prevent the spread of
MRSA within medical institutions. A number of studies have shown that many
health care workers are
not appropriately vigilant about washing their hands consistently.
"Hand hygiene is the most important means of preventing the spread of
infection," said APIC President Denise Murphy.
MRSA is resistant to all forms of penicillin, which has earned it the moniker of
"superbug." Due to its
drug resistance, it is twice as fatal as other
staph infections.
In 1974, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that 2 percent
of the staph infections occurring in medical facilities were cases of MRSA; in
2004, the estimate had risen almost to 63 percent.
"Killing MRSA infections is easy," countered consumer health advocate Mike
Adams. "Manuka honey easily kills MRSA infections, as does colloidal silver, tea
tree oil and literally thousands of other botanical medicines. While
conventional medicine remains baffled by this
antibiotic resistant
infection, the world of natural medicine has known how to beat such infections
for literally thousands of years," Adams said.
Worldwide, approximately 2.7 percent of S. aureus carriers are estimated to be
infected or colonized with MRSA.
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