MRSA in the NEWS

Estimates based on a US-wide extrapolation of data collected from a number of hospital sites and recently published by the Center of Disease Control (CDC) in JAMA (Klevens, R.M., et al., Invasive Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Infections in the United States. JAMA, 2007. 298(15): p. 1763-1771) put the number of annual MRSA associated fatalities at more than 18,000. This makes MRSA infections a burden comparable to the one caused by AIDS.

The involvement of the CDC gave the report a semi-official character and massive media attention in the US. The increased public concern bears the danger of scientifically unfounded hyperactivity and even panic reactions. Besides the widely publicized school closures there have been reports of discrimination against suspected MRSA patients by employers, co-workers, and even family members.

Outside the US and the UK the issue is less prominent. However, media prominence does not correlate with the severity of the problem. In a report by the DGKH (German society for hospital hygiene) “Krank im Krankenhaus” PDF published in cooperation with Alliance Health Insurance, the number of MRSA associated fatalities was estimated at up to 50'000 (in a sample population of about 450 million).

This corresponds to a significantly higher prevalence compared to the 18'000 for the US (a population of about 300 million). Although the report was mentioned in a number of news articles there was no obvious effect on public opinion or politics.

However, there is reason to believe that the serious concerns surrounding MRSA will eventually be contained. There are number of promising treatments on the way. More importantly since MRSA is a problem of hygiene rather than therapy on a larger scale, hospitals are rapidly changing their practices. Much has been learned and continues to be learned form virtually MRSA free zones such as the Netherlands. In addition low-cost, reliable, and efficient methods for mass screening such as BCM® MRSA ELF® are made available.

One should not forget that the human costs resulting from other hygiene related microbial pandemics are much greater. One example is Shigella spp. which according to WHO estimates kills 1.6 million people every year. As in the case of MRSA such tragedy could be almost entirely prevented if proper practice and low-cost robust methods of screening were implemented.