Drug-resistant bacteria, such as MRSA, are no joke to health care providers, including massage therapists. The good news is MRSA is on the decline.

An analysis of data from 2005 through 2008 of nine metropolitan areas in the U.S. indicates that health care-associated invasive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections are on the decrease. The study showed MRSA decreased among patients with infections that began in the community or in the hospital, according to a press release from the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

"An estimated 1.7 million

health care-associated infections are associated annually with 99,000 deaths in U.S. hospitals," the press release noted. "A multidrug-resistant organism that has received much attention is MRSA, and preventing health care-associated MRSA infections has become a goal for public health agencies and policy makers, with prevention programs increasingly common in health care settings."

Results from the study are running in the August 11 issue of JAMA. (JAMA. 2010;304[6]:687-689.)


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