Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: http://www.theherald.com.au/news/local/news/health/hunter-superbug-outbreak/2563899.aspx
Hunter superbug outbreak
BY ALISON BRANLEY
22 May, 2012 06:00 AM
Golden staph superbug infections in Hunter hospitals have jumped by almost a quarter this year and more people are contracting drug-resistant strains in the community.
Hunter New England Health data shows hospital staff treated 730 cases of the drug-resistant staph infection in the first four months of this year, up from 597 in 2011.
This includes 227 people treated at emergency departments, also up on last year.
General practitioners say the staph increase can be partly blamed on people asking for antibiotics for colds, because bacteria is adapting to survive...
...A Hunter New England Health spokesman said there were no figures on golden staph infections, known officially as Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA), in the community because doctors did not have to report cases to authorities.
But emergency department figures suggest more people are acquiring the infections outside hospital walls...
Hunter superbug outbreak
BY ALISON BRANLEY
22 May, 2012 06:00 AM
Golden staph superbug infections in Hunter hospitals have jumped by almost a quarter this year and more people are contracting drug-resistant strains in the community.
Hunter New England Health data shows hospital staff treated 730 cases of the drug-resistant staph infection in the first four months of this year, up from 597 in 2011.
This includes 227 people treated at emergency departments, also up on last year.
General practitioners say the staph increase can be partly blamed on people asking for antibiotics for colds, because bacteria is adapting to survive...
...A Hunter New England Health spokesman said there were no figures on golden staph infections, known officially as Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA), in the community because doctors did not have to report cases to authorities.
But emergency department figures suggest more people are acquiring the infections outside hospital walls...