The germ can spread rapidly in both hospitals and nursing homes, and it can be very deadly. The MRSA infection is not only dangerous, but it's hard to fight, because it has a high resilience to most antibiotic drugs, which led to its "superbug" status.
Hospitals and nursing homes can be successful in stopping the spread of MRSA by first identifying the infection and then placing a quarantine on the patients who acquire it.
The guidelines of the VA program are requiring the screening of all patients who are both admitted and discharged to have their noses "swabbed." Additional care beyond isolating these infected patients requires health care staff to use precautionary methods of stopping the spread of MRSA by utilizing disposable gowns and gloves for each patient and sterilizing all equipment (including blood pressure cuffs and stethoscopes) after each patient use.
According to Pittsburgh's VA Acting Director, Dr. Rajiv Jain, all of the nation's 150-plus VA hospitals will begin using the aggressive pilot program's standard procedures to prevent the spread of MRSA infections by March 1. The intensive care units will be the first to apply these standards as they plan to expand the program until all patients are being screened.
The spread of MRSA was once seen as a nearly uncontrollable cause of death from an infection unable to be stopped by most drugs that was also usually acquired in the hospital setting. The contamination is apparently spread primarily from patient to patient by health care workers treating those with open wounds and invasive devices (such as catheters) on their equipment and clothing. As the spread now seems to be identified and the risks are being eliminated, the reduction of these infections has been successful.
Some people have the MRSA germ as a carrier, yet show no signs of illness; however, the germ can still be spread and infect another individual. (This is similar to HIV in that an individual can be a carrier with no signs of infection, yet spread the infection causing illness to another individual.)
As testing for MRSA screening is routinely conducted, it is now being indicated that the superbug can be reduced and possibly even eliminated.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, approximately 90,000 people have died from hospital-acquired infections, with MRSA infections comprising 17,000 of that total. The germ can cause further infections, which in turn can cause death from various things such as pneumonia to the flesh-eating disease.
According to the AP, there is another hospital in Illinois that is not only screening every patient, but is also requiring special soaps and antibiotic nasal creams to be used on all individuals who test positive as a carrier of MRSA. The Evanston, Illinois hospital also uses a more expensive, but new and quicker, result-oriented test to identify the MRSA.
According to the AP report, Dr. Robert Muder, the infectious diseases director stated that "the CDC says that if whatever approach you're using is not working, you need to become tougher and do universal screening," but "they're trying to avoid a one-size-fits-all approach."
