C'mon, someone, have a go at outbidding Novartis for Neutec...
Up to 53 million people carry MRSA, research says
2 hours, 35 minutes ago
LONDON (Reuters) - Up to 53 million people worldwide could be carrying the deadly superbug MRSA, scientists said on Wednesday.
Even in countries like the Netherlands, Sweden and Norway, where MRSA has been relatively low and stable for many years, incidence rates are starting to rise, they said.
MRSA, full name Meticillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus, is a bacteria resistant to certain antibiotics. It occurs most frequently in patients with weakened immune systems in hospitals and nursing homes and can be spread due to poor hygiene.
Scientists estimate that around 2 billion people, some 25-30 percent of the world's population, have a form of the bacteria Staphylococcus Aureus.
"Of those ... conservative estimates based on either Dutch or U.S. prevalence figures, would predict that between 2 million and 53 million carry MRSA," said Professor Hajo Grundmann, one of the authors of research published in The Lancet.
He said the large discrepancy between the higher and lower ends of that estimate was due to differences in the way surveys were conducted.
Grundmann, from the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment in Bilthoven, the Netherlands, said that "fitter" strains of MRSA had evolved which were even more resistant to treatment.
These strains could "potentially become explosive" in hospitals, the report's authors said.
MRSA has been an increasing problem in many countries in recent years.
In England and Wales, for example, the number of deaths linked to MRSA jumped 22 percent between 2003 and 2004.... |
