Maryland Expected to Begin Tracking Hospital-Acquired MRSA Infections
The Maryland Health Care Commission, an independent state regulatory agency, is expected to vote today for the state to consider methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, a reportable disease. There is currently no requirement for Maryland state and local health departments to track and record MRSA, the virulent superbug that can develop into a lethal [...]
Pennsylvania School District Involves Parents, Teachers in Fight Against MRSA
When a school in Penns Valley Area School District was notified last week of a student with a methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection, District officials quickly mobilized to ensure the safety of all students and employees. A multi-pronged approach included communication with the Pennsylvania Department of Health office in Williamsport, parental notification, [...]
Infection Control Experts Say Hospitals Not Doing Enough to Prevent MRSA
Half of American health care facilities are not doing enough to stop the spread of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), according to a poll of infection control professionals. The online survey conducted by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) revealed that while 59 percent of respondents work at facilities that are [...]
Maryland Teacher’s Death Linked to MRSA
A Montgomery County, Maryland teacher died on Sunday, December 9, 2007 due to complications related to the dangerous superbug known as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA. Merry King, 48, was a resident of Silver Spring and taught special education students at Herbert Hoover Middle School in Rockville.
Rockville, Maryland is close to Baltimore, the area [...]
MRSA Related Hospitalizations Surge More Than 100%
Hospitalizations caused by the Staphylococcus aureus bacteria are on the rise in the United States, ballooning 62% between 1999 and 2005. During the same period, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, accounted for a 119% jump in hospitalizations, reports a new study in the December 2007 issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases published by the Centers for [...]
West Virginia Man Sues after Contracting MRSA During Hospitalization
The superbug known as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, is at the center of a medical malpractice suit filed against Charleston Area Medical Center in southern West Virginia on November 14, 2007. The lawsuit filed in Kanawha Circuit Court alleges that the facility’s negligence and carelessness caused Gerald George of Dunbar, West Virginia to [...]
National Handwashing Awareness Week
December 2 – 8, 2007 is National Handwashing Awareness Week in the United States, and schools across the country are taking the opportunity to remind students that handwashing saves lives. Handwashing is the most important measure individuals can take to prevent the spread of infection and illness, according to the Centers for Disease Control [...]
MRSA: Not the Only Killer Staph
The death of a high school outside linebacker in Plano, Texas serves as a stark reminder that the superbug methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is not unique in its ability to quickly take lives. Fifteen-year-old Chad Jeter injured his leg while skateboarding on Thanksgiving and succumbed to a staph infection last week, but it wan’t [...]