MRSA in California

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is on the rise: in 1974, MRSA accounted for 2 percent of total staph infections; in 1995 the number increased to 22 percent; and by 2004, 63 percent of staph infections were MRSA.¹ According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more people in the United States now die from these mostly hospital-acquired staph infections than from AIDS.

During the current Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Scope of Work, HSAG will work with participating California hospitals to reduce the incidence of health care-associated MRSA infections by forming MRSA teams that will carry out best practices, such as:

• Consistent hand hygiene.
• Decontamination/cleaning of the environment.
• "Right prescribing" of antibiotics.
• Use of standard precautions.
• Inclusion of all health care staff members in intervention measures.

HSAG will also encourage hospitals to report MRSA data to the CDC's National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) in an effort to establish a national registry for MRSA tracking and eradication.

1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (October 2007). MRSA: A Growing Problem in the Healthcare Setting, But One With a Cure. http://www.cdc.gov/Features/MRSA.