Each year in the US there are 1.7 million health care associated infections that cause approximately 99,000 deaths in US hospitals.  There are lots of germs that can cause health care associated infections, but 16% are in the really bad category because they’re resistant to  antibiotics.  These multidrug-resistant organisms pose huge problems once they get started, which is why preventing their transmission in health care facilities so important. The germ that gets the most attention is methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)- and preventing health care MRSA infections is one of our top public health goals in AZ.

A new study this week suggests that we may be making some headway.  A new study published in JAMA found that the rates of invasive health care associated MRSA infections decreased in recent years among patients with infections that began outside and inside hospitals.

We’ve developed a Healthcare-Associated Infection (HAI) and Antibiotic Resistance resource page to help healthcare providers to develop and implement better plans to reduce healthcare associated infections.  We’re also working in various ways through our medical and long term care licensing programs and our public health programs to keep making headway on this important CDC Winnable Battle.