Methicillin-resistant Staph aureus (MRSA) infections have been a common cause of infections in the hospital setting for years, starting in the 1960's. Over the past few decades, there have been an increasing number of people getting MRSA infections outside the hospital, in the community. Initially, in 1981, the disease was seen in IV drug users. By 1997, the disease had spread further, killing 4 children that year. It is now the most frequent cause of skin and soft-tissue infections presenting to emergency rooms in the United States. It is commonly seen in doctor's offices as well, including pediatricians. Outbreaks occur in sports teams, child care centers, and prisons. Although the disease usually causes painful but rather benign skin infections, it can cause invasive disease, infecting the blood or lungs or other areas, which is often fatal.
In this study, researchers from the CDC analyzed data on MRSA infections, which are actively monitored at 9 sites across the country. The results are somewhat shocking. Based on these large populations, researchers estimate that there were just over 94,000 invasive MRSA infections in the U.S. in 2005, causing 18,650 deaths, for a rate of disease of 31.8 per 100,000 persons. If this number is accurate, this is more deaths than that caused by HIV/AIDS in 2005. This study does not even begin to measure the skin and soft tissue infections caused by this organism.
Medicine is a constantly changing field; there are always new germs mutating and interacting with the environment and becoming a cause of human disease. MRSA is emerging as a major public health issue and an increasingly common cause of disease in children and adults. Hopefully, more effective treatments will be developed in the near future, as well as means of prevention. This also shows the dangers of overusing antibiotics for viral infections like colds, and to make livestock more productive, for antibiotic overuse is a major factor in the rise of MRSA and other resistant germs.
