MRSA: the making of a 'killer bug'

Link: spiked-health

You might not agree with everything in this article but it has some provocative insights. Click the link above for the full text

The debate about MRSA has little to do with finding ways to tackle this practical problem. Instead, it seems that MRSA has become a metaphor for a host of social anxieties. MRSA is presented as the result of our slovenliness, of nurses not taking care to wash their hands, of floors left dirty and patients uncared for. There is an idea that we are all responsible, and should all do our bit - by swabbing up if we visit friends and relatives in hospital, and being on the lookout for poor hygiene. Yet improving poor personal hygiene isn't the sole solution to MRSA infection. Experts estimate that only about 15 per cent of cases would be prevented by methods such as isolating infected patients and nurses washing their hands regularly (5).