MRSA Cases On Rise Outside Hospitals

Luke 21:11 There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.

A USA Today study shows that the deadly MRSA bacteria are spreading far beyond hospitals.

The bacteria were commonly found in hospitals other health care facilities but did not impact the general population. Now, reports of the bacteria are being found in schools, workout clubs and even NFL locker rooms.

Researchers say MRSA’s ability to quickly develop immunity to drugs is hampering their ability to stop its spread. Despite a 30% decline in MRSA infections in health care facilities, there is little to no decline in community-based strains of the bacteria. Infections among children have jumped 10% a year because it can spread from two students simply bumping into each other in the hallway.

“We don’t really understand the origin of these [community based] strains,” Costi Sifri, an infectious-disease physician at the University of Virginia Health System., told the USA Today. “And we don’t really know how to contain them.”

Hospitals and doctors in most states are not required to report MRSA infections so groups like the CDC have had trouble monitoring outbreaks of the disease.

Researchers say the most effective way to stop MRSA is to develop a vaccine for staph infections. However, they say that a viable vaccine for the mass market is still years into the future.

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