Safety

Study: Drug-resistant "superbug" present in millions of Americans

OSHA Healthcare Connection, January 3, 2006

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New research estimates that about two million people carry a strain of drug-resistant bacteria Staphylococcus aureus, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), in their noses, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that appears in the January 15 Journal of Infectious Diseases.

Researchers collected samples from 10,000 U.S. volunteers in the 2001-2002 National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey. The results showed that nearly one-third of the samples were colonized with staph. Prevalence was highest among males and children between six and 11 years old. MRSA prevalence was 0.8% and was highest among women and those older than 60. Samples colonized with strains commonly associated with community-associated MRSA were more likely to be from younger and black volunteers, according to the study.



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