Staph Infections More Worrisome Than SARS
Posted on October 26, 2007
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News about antibiotic-resistant staph infections was the topic most closely followed by the American public last week, edging out the Iraq War, the economy, the 2008 presidential campaign, and Ellen DeGeneres’ pet adoption controversy. A survey report released by the Pew Research Center indicated that more than a quarter of Americans paid very close attention to news about methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections and 18% followed MRSA stories more closely than any other.
Media coverage of MRSA did not keep pace with public interest – only 3% of national news stories between October 14 and 19, 2007 addressed staph infections. MRSA was the ninth most heavily covered news item of the week.
The Pew survey also revealed that 44% of the general public are at least somewhat worried about exposure to MRSA. During the spring of 2003, just 35% of survey respondents were worried about exposure to SARS.
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