HHS HealthBeat (September 21, 2010)

Fewer hospital infections

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Patients can pick up – in the hospital – infection by bacteria known as MRSA, which resists treatment by some common antibiotics.

However, researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report a nationwide drop in serious health care MRSA infections. The CDC’s Dr. Alexander Kallen:

"There was about a 28 percent decrease in these serious MRSA infections that start in the hospital. There was also about a 17 percent decrease in these infections that start in people outside the hospital but are in people that have contact with the health care system." (15 seconds)

To help reduce the risk of transmission, patients can ask or remind health care providers to clean their hands.

The study is in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: November 21, 2011