The Loyola University Medical Center will be testing every incoming patient for Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) in an effort to control the spread of the superbug.
CHICAGO – Loyola University Medical Center on Monday announced plans to start testing all incoming patients for a drug-resistant staph germ and isolating those who carry the dangerous bacteria.
The 589-bed hospital in Maywood, just west of Chicago, is among the first in Illinois to start universal screening for the superbug.
The germ in question is called MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.
A new Illinois law requires hospitals to test high-risk and intensive-care patients for MRSA.
The nation's Veterans Affairs hospitals began universal MRSA testing this year. And Evanston Northwestern Healthcare has reported a substantial drop in MRSA cases at its three suburban Chicago hospitals since it began universal testing in 2005.
I suspect we'll see this become common. LiveScience has a feature up on MRSA today:
MSRA spreads via surface-to-surface contact, developing into a staph infection if conditions are right. The first symptoms can include pimple-like sores on the skin where the bacteria launch their attack, while rarer but more advanced infections can enter the bloodstream, attack organs and lead to death.
But need the masses live in fear of stubborn yet deadly microbes such as MRSA as their numbers rise worldwide, or are we overreacting?
Most medical experts think superbug diseases are here to stay but offer a major caveat: Only a fraction of the population need worry a little, if at all.
I'm always a bit leery when I hear things like that. I rather suspect the testing is a better idea than just trusting the odds.
