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Two VA hospital deaths may have been caused by MRSA

Infection Control Monitor, June 15, 2004

The Butler (PA) Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center is investigating two patient deaths involving Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Officials stress that MRSA is a growing problem in United States hospitals; the CDC estimates that 100,000 people are hospitalized each year with MRSA infections.

John Cyprian, director of the Butler County Veterans Services Office, said that VA officials admitted a mistake in caring for Albert Richard McKnight, who died in May after contracting MRSA at the Butler VA. Cyprian asked for a federal investigation of the medical center in Butler Township after learning from a second family that claimed MRSA contributed to a patient death at the Butler VA.

Hospitals in the Pittsburgh area set a goal last year to eliminate MRSA infections. Preventing transmission of the bacteria requires strict adherence to good hygiene practices by hospital workers.

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