Drug-resistant infections are rising rapidly in the United States and account for almost 19,000 deaths annually, a new report from researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found.
The report says that the alarming spread of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus infected over 94,000 Americans in 2005. Infections caused by MRSA included blood and bone infections, pneumonia and pericarditis or the inflammation of the heart's lining.
The CDC report said most infections originated in hospitals nursing homes as well as medical devices. The researchers used data from nine states taking part in the Active Bacterial Core surveillance (ABCs)/Emerging Infections Program Network to compile this report.
The Network was examined from June 2004 to December 2005. Overall 8,987 observed cases of invasive MRSA were reported during the period. Researchers classified them as either health care associated infections or community associated infections.
“As the epidemiology of MRSA disease changes, including both community- and health care–associated disease, accurate information on the scope and magnitude of the burden of MRSA disease in the U.S. population is needed to set priorities for prevention and control,” the authors led by R. Monina Klevens, a medical epidemiologist at the CDC wrote.
They found that 58.4 percent of MRSA infections were healthcare or hospital associated, while 13.7 percent were community-associated infections.
“Based on 8,987 observed cases of MRSA and 1,598 in-hospital deaths among patients with MRSA, we estimate that 94,360 invasive MRSA infections occurred in the United States in 2005; these infections were associated with death in 18,650 cases,” the authors write.
The authors conclude by saying that MRSA has quickly developed into a major public health concern and that steps must be taken to prevent it.
The detailed report is published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
