Deadly Bacteria Found to Be More Common

Nearly 19,000 people died in the United States in 2005 after being infected with virulent drug-resistant bacteria that have spread rampantly through hospitals and nursing homes, according to the most thorough study of the disease’s prevalence ever conducted.

The government study, which is being published Wednesday in The Journal of the American Medical Association, suggests that such infections may be twice as common as previously thought, according to its lead author, Dr. R. Monina Klevens.

If the mortality estimates are correct, the number of deaths associated with the germ, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, would exceed those attributed to H.I.V.-AIDS, Parkinson's disease, emphysema, or homicide each year.

--> How's that for a bright and cheery first post? Sheesh. One day we hear cancer deaths are at an all-time low, the next we hear Staph is the next natural killer. There's no winning.

(Via NYT)

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