Health officials are reporting more bad news on the drug-resistant infections front: Hospitalization of patients with antibiotic-resistant staph has risen significantly since the late 1990s despite intensified efforts to control it, according to a study of New York City medical center cases.
The findings -- published in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America – have dire implications that extend beyond the New York City cases studied and suggest more needs to be done in the fight against drug-resistant infections, researchers said.
The study, conducted by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, found hospitalization rates for patients with community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) more than tripled between 1997 and 2006.
MRSA is a potentially deadly bacterial infection that is resistant to antibiotic treatment. Most cases of MRSA are acquired in hospitals, nursing homes, or other healthcare facilities. But there is growing concern about MRSA infections acquired in community settings like homes, schools, and neighborhoods.
The new study found 3,579 people were admitted to New York City hospitals with MRSA during the 10 years researchers examined. The rate of MRSA cases increased from 113 people in 1997, about 1.5 cases per 100,000 people, to 875 admissions in 2006, about 5.3 per 100,000.
Men, children, people with diabetes, people with HIV, and the homeless were more likely to be hospitalized with MRSA than the general population.
"These findings suggest a substantial increase in the rate of hospitalization with community-acquired MRSA in New York City since 1997," said Amanda Farr, one of the study's authors. The findings suggest public health efforts need to be stepped up to curb infections, particularly among high-risk groups.
"Departments of health should educate homeless shelters about [MRSA], ways to recognize exposures that lead to transmission and signs and symptoms that should prompt people to seek medical care," the researchers said. "Programs to increase awareness are also needed in the Bronx and other high-risk areas to help residents and healthcare providers recognize signs and symptoms of early infection and implement prompt treatment as well as conduct proper wound care, especially in HIV-positive persons and those with diabetes."