Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection is a global problem. First reported in the early 1960s, MRSA can cause life-threatening infections in patients admitted to hospitals. When such infections occur, they are known as healthcare-associated MRSA (HA-MRSA).
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in America, 57% of Staphylococcus aureus found in hospitals in 2002 were methicillin-resistant, compared with just 2% in 1974. There has been a dramatic increase in MRSA resistance in the UK from 2% in 1990 to >40% in the early 2000s. Today, 60-70% of all ITU (Intensive Therapy Units) Staphylococcus aureus infections in the US and the UK are methicillin resistant.
Approximately one-third of patients who carry MRSA develop infection, including the more serious invasive infection – which may result in death. The mortality rate from MRSA blood infection is 64% and there has been a 15-fold increase in MRSA-associated deaths since 1993. This is a public health issue on a global scale.
Hospital MRSA infections in the USA
Adapted from "Hospital stays with MRSA infections 1993-2005
Source: AHRQ, Center for Delivery, Organization and Markets, Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project, Nationwide Inpatient Sample, 1993-2005"
15-fold increase in MRSA deaths since 1993
HA-MRSA in the USA (2005)
- Almost 370,000 hospital stays for infections with MRSA
- More than tripled compared with 2000 and increased nearly ten-fold compared with 1995
- Increase from 2004 to 2005 alone was 30%
- Highest rate of MRSA hospitalisation was among the elderly - 360.8 MRSA stays per 100,000 - more than three times higher than for any other age group
- Most common conditions associated with MRSA were skin infections (18.9% of all MRSA cases), pneumonia (9.0%), complications of medical care (16%) and septicemia (7.3%)