Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, is a tough-to-treat infection that in recent years has migrated out of the hospital and into the community. The cases above come from the country practice of WSJ.com columnist Ben Brewer, who writes this week about his experience treating the infection.
We all harbor skin bacteria. Some bugs are worse than others. About 25% to 30% of people carry staph bacteria on the skin or in the nose and can pass it to others. Only about 1% of the population is walking around with MRSA.
Even so, nearly 18,650 people died from MRSA infection and 94,000 others were seriously sickened in 2005, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The basics of MRSA prevention are hand washing, wiping down surfaces and covering cuts. Keeping personal care items separated from others also helps. For more information on MRSA and how to prevent its spread, see this report from the Mayo Clinic.
clipped from online.wsj.com
No comments:
Post a Comment