Hospitals Fail to Take Basic Steps to Stop MRSA’S Spread
Seattle – MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) is a leading cause of death in hospital patients. Infection by this dangerous bacteria is frighteningly common in hospital and nursing home settings, and deaths due to the bacteria are frequent; yet these facilities are doing little to prevent the spread of the highly infectious disease.
The recent investigative series by the Seattle Times in Washington has revealed a startling truth in area hospitals. The Center for Disease Control reported that last year, 18,000 patients died as a result of the MRSA hospital disease; in the state of Washington alone, deaths from the disease have jumped from 141 to over 4,700 annually. The Seattle Times reportedly uncovered 670 MRSA deaths in Washington hospitals that were previously undisclosed.
MRSA is easily detectable and responds well to treatment, but hospital and nursing home regulations make no provisions to require patient screening. In fact, hospitals are not even required to report any information on numbers of MRSA-related deaths in their facilities.
Sadly, most of these deaths could have been prevented by taking simple precautionary measures. While MRSA hospital disease is readily transferred through contact, most people can harbor the bacteria on their skin or in their nostrils without getting sick. However, when the bacteria enter the body through a cut or abrasion on the skin (which understandably occurs during surgery), serious infection may result. In patients whose system is already weakened by their condition, the outcome is frequently tragic.
There are inexpensive screening tests (costing about $20 each) which can be administered quickly and painlessly, accurately detecting the disease. If patients are tested upon entering the hospital, those who are carrying MRSA or are infected can be isolated from the rest of the patient population. They could then be treated before undergoing surgery, drastically reducing MRSA deaths.
Yet, according to the Seattle Times, most hospital facilities take no steps to implement patient screening. Administrators argue that to spend the necessary time and resources to test for one type of bacteria would unduly compromise patient safety. In addition, they say, laboratory staff and space are inadequate, nor is there sufficient space to isolate a whole patient body.
Hospitals, with the backing of health regulations, believe that basic sanitary procedures, such as hand-washing and use of surgical masks, should suffice to prevent the spread of MRSA hospital disease. Yet the CDC statistics show that nothing could be further from the truth.
this is a gross pic.