Drug-resistant bacteria are transmitting to more people in community settings such as hospitals, prisons and public housing. Such “super bugs” can run rampant, researchers warned.
Researchers at a Chicago hospital found a seven-fold increase in drug-resistant staph infection that had been contracted outside of any hospital. The rate of infection spiraled to 164 cases per 100,000 people in 2005, up from 24 cases per 100,000 in 2000.
The intractable infection known as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus does not react to standard antibiotic treatment. The problem has emerged in community settings around the world over the past one-year.
Researcher Bala Hota of Chicago’s Rush University Medical Center, who has analyzed over 518 people infected with community related diseases, said,
An understanding of factors promoting acquisition and emergence of (drug-resistant infections) may aid in the development of prevention strategies.
Hota points to two risk factors, that is, confinement in a jail or prison, and living in public housing projects. Other factors linked to so-called community-contracted infections include intravenous drug use, overuse of antibiotics, living in congested housing, poor hygiene, playing certain games and tattooing.
Over 90,000 people lose their lives annually in U.S. hospitals due to such drug-resistant infections, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. U.S. is not the only country with such a serious problem. Canada and Britain have also reported such cases.
Via:Reuters