Health
Resistant staph infections up
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted June 18, 2007
The incidence of antibiotic-resistant staph infections increased substantially in several Chicago neighborhoods in recent years. The infections, which do not respond to standard treatment, previously had been confined to hospitals and other health care institutions.
Researchers at Rush University Medical Center and John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County, both in Chicago, examined tissue, fluid and bone cultures taken between 2000 and 2005 at the latter institution. They found that the incidence of community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus increased from 24 cases per 100,000 people in 2000 to 164.2 cases per 100,000 people in 2005.
The findings, which were published in the May 28 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, suggest that prisons, public housing and other community settings may promote cross-transmission because large at-risk populations remain together for long periods of time, researchers said.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2007/06/18/hlbf0618.htm.
