In 2017, more than 119,000 people in the United States had a bloodstream infection with Staphylococcus aureus (staph), and nearly 20,000 of them died. Staph lives harmlessly on people's skin, but once it gets into the blood it can cause sepsis or death. Its drug-resistant form, MRSA, gets the attention — yet any staph can be deadly, CDC warned in its March 2019 Vital Signs report.
Two kinds, both dangerous
Staph is either methicillin-resistant (MRSA) or methicillin-susceptible (MSSA). It is a leading cause of infections in U.S. healthcare facilities and spreads within and between hospitals and other facilities, and in communities.
| Trend | |
|---|---|
| Hospital MRSA | Rates of hospital-onset MRSA infections fell 17% a year until 2013 — then progress slowed |
| MSSA | Recent data suggest rates are not declining, and may be rising in communities |
| Injection drug use | 9% of serious staph infections in 2016 were in people who inject drugs such as opioids, up from 4% in 2011 |
| VA medical centers | By 2017, reduced MRSA by 55% and MSSA by 12%, after adding steps such as screening new patients |
Credit: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Vital Signs*, March 2019.*
Who is at risk
- In communities: uncovered or draining wounds, especially in contact sports or crowded living; sharing towels, razors and other personal items; recent stays in a healthcare facility; injecting drugs such as opioids.
- In hospitals: hospital stays and surgery, during and shortly after; sharing personal items; exposure to patients who carry or are infected with staph; medical devices in the body, such as IV lines.
- In other healthcare settings: outpatient surgery and procedures such as dialysis; nursing home stays; medical devices such as IVs.
What works
Healthcare providers can:
- follow current recommendations for preventing infections from devices and procedures;
- stop spread, including gloves and gowns (Contact Precautions) for resistant infections, and consider screening high-risk patients and decolonization — reducing the germs people carry — during high-risk periods such as ICU stays, surgery or device use;
- treat infections quickly and appropriately;
- teach patients how to avoid infection and spread, and the early signs of sepsis.
Healthcare facilities can make MRSA and MSSA prevention a priority: look at their own staph data, act on it and track progress. Many hospitals have prevented infections this way.
Everyone can keep hands clean and wounds covered; avoid sharing things that touch skin, such as towels, razors and needles; watch for signs of infection and complications such as sepsis; and tell future healthcare providers about any resistant staph infection.
Staph infections and deaths are preventable. Adding tactics such as decolonization before surgery to CDC's current recommendations could prevent more of them.
Sources
Based on "Staph Infections Can Kill," Vital Signs, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, March 5, 2019; a work of the United States government in the public domain. The underlying reports appeared in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, March 2019: "Epidemiology and Recent Trends in Methicillin-Resistant and in Methicillin-Susceptible Staphylococcus aureus Bloodstream Infections — United States" and "Trends in Staphylococcus aureus Infections in Veterans Affairs Medical Centers — United States, 2005–2017."
Licence: CC0 1.0 (public domain) · Adapted from www.cdc.gov
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