Community MRSA cases on the rise - Fosters.
Community-associated MRSA infection cases are on the rise, but area health officials say the public can take steps to reverse the trend. A recent study by Extending the Cure, part of Resources for the Future, a Washington, D.C., think tank, found there has been a sevenfold increase in the number of infections from community-associated strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus at outpatient hospital units from 1999 to 2006 — from 3.6 percent of all MRSA cases to 28.2 percent. "MRSA has generally been a significant problem only in hospitals," said Eili Klein, the report's lead author and a Resources for the Future researcher. "But the findings from the study suggest that there is a significant reservoir in the community as well."
