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From: TSS ()
Press Release CDC estimates 94,000 invasive drug-resistant staph infections occurred in the U.S. in 2005 The study in the Oct. 17 edition of the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) establishes the first national baseline by which to assess future trends in invasive MRSA infections. MRSA infections can range from mild skin infections to more severe infections of the bloodstream, lungs and at surgical sites. The study found about 85 percent of all invasive MRSA infections were associated with health care settings, of which two¨Cthirds surfaced in the community among people who were hospitalized, underwent a medical procedure or resided in a long¨Cterm care facility within the previous year. In contrast, about 15 percent of reported infections were considered to be community¨Cassociated, which means that the infection occurred in people without documented health care risk factors. The 2005 rates of invasive infection were highest among people 65 years of age or older. Black people were affected at twice the rate of whites, which could be due to higher rates of chronic illness among blacks. ¡°These numbers show that many families are being affected by these drug¨Cresistant infections,¡± said Denise Cardo, M.D., director of CDC¡äs Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion. ¡°Healthcare facilities need to make MRSA prevention a greater priority. The closer we get to 100 percent compliance with CDC recommendations, the greater the impact on patient health and safety.¡± Experts arrived at the new national estimate by projecting from the number of invasive MRSA cases from nine U.S. sites. The sites included the state of Connecticut; the Atlanta metropolitan area; the San Francisco Bay area; the Denver metropolitan area; the Portland, Ore., metropolitan area; Monroe County, N.Y.; Baltimore City, Md.; Davidson County, Tenn.; and Ramsey County, Minn. All the sites were part of CDC¡äs Active Bacterial Core surveillance program, which actively tracks a number of pathogens in the United States representing a population of 38 million Americans. In health care settings, MRSA occurs most frequently among patients who undergo invasive medical procedures or who have weakened immune systems and are being treated in hospitals and health care facilities such as nursing homes and dialysis centers. For more information on MRSA, please visit http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/submenus/sub_mrsa.htm. For more information on CDC¡äs guidelines for the prevention of MRSA in health care settings, visit http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dhqp/ar_mrsa_prevention.html. ### Content Source: Office of Enterprise Communication CDC: Drug-resistant staph MRSA VRSA deaths may surpass AIDS toll http://edition.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/conditions/10/16/mrsa.cdc.ap/ Lee Memorial attacking infection By Jennifer Booth Reed The board of directors has given preliminary approval to $286,000 worth of equipment that will be used to screen every intensive care unit patient for the tough-to-fight and increasingly common staph infections plaguing U.S. hospitals. Final approval will come at the board¡¯s meeting this week. Known as MRSA ¡ª methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus ¡ª the bug is the No. 1 cause of hospital-acquired infections. As its name implies, it is resistant to many commonly used antibiotics. MRSA cases are on the rise both in hospitals and in the community. A June study by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology found 46 of every 1,000 patients surveyed were infected with or were a carrier of MRSA. The rate is between eight and 11 times greater than previous estimates. MRSA and related bloodstream infections afflict about 350,000 patients a year, and kill 90,000. Recently, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced it would no longer pay hospitals to treat infections the agency believes were preventable. It costs U.S. hospitals $5 billion to $6 billion a year to treat hospital-acquired infections. Lee Memorial lost $2.3 million during this fiscal year on 63 cases. The new lab equipment will detect MRSA from a patient¡¯s nasal swab in two hours, as opposed to the 48 hours needed with previous testing technology. Knowing a patient¡¯s MRSA status quickly could save the system as much as $278,000 in supplies and $69,806 worth of nursing time. That¡¯s because patients are kept under isolation until their status is known, and nurses are required to change gowns, masks and gloves every time they come in contact with them. ¡°We¡¯re trying to stay on the cutting edge,¡± said Fran Coleman, the system director of microbiology. With final approval, the new technology will complement another testing system adopted four months ago. In May, the system began using a new molecular test developed by the Massachusetts firm AdvanDx that can determine whether patients have staph infections in their bloodstream. In medical terms, the test is known by the acronym PNA-fish. The test shaves off one to two days from the time it takes to identify a patient¡¯s infection. In the past, testing worked like this: Clinicians drew a patient¡¯s blood and sent it to the system¡¯s central lab at Cape Coral Hospital. There, laboratory technicians could tell fairly quickly whether a patient had an infection. But they didn¡¯t know what kind it was. To learn that, they had to culture the blood for one to two days. With the new test, once technicians have determined there are bacteria in a patient¡¯s blood, they¡¯ll know within two hours whether the infection is caused by a type of staph. ¡°We¡¯re providing vital, useful information to a doctor 42 to 72 hours earlier,¡± said Philip Onigman, the company¡¯s director. First to test Lee Memorial is the first hospital in South Florida to adopt the test and one of 50 major labs nationally to do so, according to AdvanDx. The rapid test has implications for patients and hospitals, Onigman said. Doctors generally begin administering antibiotics as soon as they suspect infection. But using the blood culture test, it would be days before they knew whether the patient really needed them. ¡°Many patients are on a three-, four-day drug regimen when they don¡¯t need it,¡± Onigman said. Translation: Longer hospital stays for patients and higher costs for treatment, not to mention further contributions to the nation¡¯s growing problem of antibiotic overuse. Bacteria aren¡¯t as prevalent in other parts of the world, Coleman said. In Northern Europe, for example, about 2 percent of the population carries MRSA, Coleman said. In the United States, the rate is 50 to 65 percent. On the flip side, patients who need treatment can get it sooner, Onigman said. The traditional blood culture is still done because it gives doctors more specific information about the bug and the kinds of drugs that best will kill it. ¡°It certainly makes life a little easier when you know a day sooner whether you¡¯re dealing with an infection,¡± said Sandy Estrada, a Lee Memorial clinical pharmacist. ¡°We don¡¯t want them to be on just antibiotic. We want them on the best antibiotic.¡± Awaiting data Lee Memorial doesn¡¯t yet have data on whether the AdvanDx test has improved patient outcomes or saved money. A study published by the journal Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease suggested the test saved $1,837 per patient in reducing unnecessary antibiotics. A study by the Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C., found mortality rates in the intensive care unit fell 80 percent after switching to the new rapid test. Estrada said some clinicians were initially skeptical of the new test. But she has found it to be 100 percent accurate when measured against results of the traditional culture. ¡°When I first heard about it, it seemed too good to be true. We¡¯ve been doing the same thing for years and years and years,¡± Estrada said. >>>>MRSA and related bloodstream infections afflict about 350,000 patients a year, and kill 90,000. Recently, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced it would no longer pay hospitals to treat infections the agency believes were preventable.<<<< http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070918/NEWS01/70917049/1075 I will not even go into antibiotic resistance issue and the cattle industry and the antibiotics and hormones they pump those cattle up when they are so sick and diseased they cannot even make it to slaughter. but that is a fact, and it is another part of the problem i.e. overuse of antibiotics. If you don't believe me, it's a weekly event, and has been for years, just look at the FDA website, on there weekly warning letters. lets look real quick at this week; In addition, you adulterated the animal feed that you fed to your veal calves within the meaning of section 501(a)(6) of the Act [21 U.S.C. 351 (a)(6)] by adding NeoMed 325 Soluable Powder (Neomycin Sulfate) and Uniprim Power for Horses (Trimethoprim and Sulfadiazine) to Strauss Veal Feed Market Blend milk replacer. The extralabel use of drugs in or on animal feed is specifically prohibited by section 512(a)(4) [21 USC 360b(a)(4)] of the Act, and 21 CFR Part 530. The above is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of violations. As a producer of animals offered for use as food, you are responsible for ensuring that your overall operation and the food you distribute is in compliance with the law. You should be aware that your illegal extralabel use of drugs resulted in high levels of drug residues in the edible tissues of veal calves you offered for slaugthter. http://www.fda.gov/foi/warning_letters/s6534c.htm Our investigation also found that you hold animals under conditions that are so inadequate that medicated animals bearing potentially harmful drug residues are likely to enter the food supply. You lack an adequate system to ensure that animals medicated by you have been withheld from slaughter for appropriate periods of time to permit depletion of potentially hazardous residues of drugs from edible tissues. For example, you failed to maintain adequate treatment records to assure that appropriate withdrawal times have been observed. Food from animals held under such conditions is adulterated within the meaning of section 402(a)(4) [21 U.S.C. 342(a)(4)] of the Act. In addition, Date: Mon, 24 Sep 2007 21:31:55 -0500 I suggest that you all read the data out about h-BASE and sporadic CJD, GSS, http://lists.ifas.ufl.edu/cgi-bin/wa.exe?A2=ind0709&L=sanet-mg&T=0&F=&S=&P=19744 *** PLEASE READ AND UNDERSTAND THE RAMIFICATIONS OF THIS !!! THE PRICE OF USA BASE CASE, (ATYPICAL BSE), AND OR TSE (whatever they are calling it http://lists.ifas.ufl.edu/cgi-bin/wa.exe?A2=ind0708&L=sanet-mg&T=0&P=19779 CREUTZFELDT JAKOB DISEASE MAD COW BASE, CWD, SCRAPIE UPDATE OCT 2007 PLEASE NOTE IN USA CJD UPDATE AS AT JUNE 2007, please note steady increase http://www.cjdsurveillance.com/pdf/case-table.pdf still disgusted in Baycliff, Texas USA Terry S. Singeltary Sr.
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