In healthcare settings, MRSA infections occur most frequently among patients who undergo invasive medical procedures (e.g., surgery), have invasive devices (e.g., catheters), and who have weakened immune systems. MRSA in healthcare settings commonly causes serious and potentially life threatening infections, such as bloodstream infections, surgical site infections, or pneumonia.

How MRSA Spreads in Healthcare Settings

MRSA is mainly spread to other patients through people's hands, especially the hands of healthcare personnel. Hands may become contaminated with MRSA bacteria following contact with MRSA-infected (or colonized) patients. If appropriate hand hygiene such as washing with soap and water or using an alcohol-based hand rub is not performed, the bacteria can be spread when the healthcare provider touches other patients.

How can I help protect myself or loved one?

• Be proactive in asking doctors and nurses to clean their hands before treating you. This includes washing their hands with soap and water or using an alcohol-based hand rub.
• Since intravenous catheters and drainage tubes may serve as entry points for infection, discuss with your doctor when these devices can be safely removed.
• Always ask visitors to wash their hands. If possible, ask your friends and relatives not to visit if they feel ill.
• After leaving a healthcare facility or after having a medical procedure (e.g., surgery), pay attention to symptoms that may indicate an infection: unexpected pain, chills, fever, drainage, or increased inflammation of a surgical wound. Contact your doctor immediately if any of these occur.

Fewer MRSA infections in healthcare

Major strides have been made in recent years to reduce the numbers of MRSA infections in healthcare settings. CDC recently reported that over the 4-year period from 2005 to 2008 in nine diverse metropolitan areas, rates of invasive healthcare-associated MRSA infection:

• Decreased 17% among patients with healthcare-associated infections that first became apparent or were diagnosed after the patient left the hospital.
• Decreased 28% among those with hospital-onset disease.
• Reductions were greatest among patients with bloodstream infections (BSI), with declines of about 34% in all hospital-onset MRSA BSI.

This represents the largest population evaluated for changes in incidence of invasive MRSA infections in the United States in recent years.

On a national scale, these data support a 2009 CDC paper in JAMA based on a different monitoring system, which reported a large decrease from 1997 to 2007 in the incidence of MRSA central line-associated BSI among patients in intensive care units (ICU). A "central line" is a tube that enters a large blood vessel close to the heart and is used to deliver medications or fluids or to monitor vital signs. The new data mentioned above (reported in the August 11th issue of JAMA) expands on the 2009 CDC report by showing a decrease in invasive MRSA infections, not only among ICU patients with central lines, but also among other inpatients, as well as outpatients who were recently hospitalized or had other significant healthcare exposure (e.g., surgery, dialysis).

More Information

• CDC MRSA Website
• MRSA FAQ  [PDF - 216 KB]
• En español: Preguntas frecuentes "Staphylococcus aureus resistente a la meticilina"  [PDF - 237 KB]
• Management of Multidrug-Resistant Organisms In Healthcare Settings, 2006 available for download.
• CDC Safe Healthcare Blog