Drug-resistant infections on the rise in American hospitals

April 9, 2005

A rise in flesh-eating staph infections has worried doctors about the possible spread of drug resistant bacteria.

Staphylococcus aureus, commonly known as staph, is a bacteria that commonly causes skin infections in otherwise healthy people. However, as a persistent threat in hospitals, it tends to infect patients who are already sick and whose systems are vulnerable due to IV lines that pierce the skin. Doctors have already battled for years against drug-resistant strains of the bacteria, but the struggle has generally been confined to hospitals.

Now, however, Methicillin Resistant Staph Aureus (MRSA) has been spreading in communities outside hospitals. Cases have multiplied by 25 times since 1998 at the University of Chicago. A Los Angeles hospital documented 14 cases of the flesh-eating infection, where patients required substantial time in intensive care and surgery. The infections are particularly problematic because nearly a quarter of people who get a staph infection require hospitalization.

Staph infections are spread much like other diseases, with crowded conditions, poor hygiene, and skin-to-skin contact most frequently to blame. At higher risk are prison inmates, homeless people, military personnel, and families with kids in day care. Athletes also have a higher risk, because sweating makes it easier for bacteria to infect the skin.