With thousands of cases of antibiotic-resistant staphylococcus each year, one U.S congressman wants to create a national database to follow the spread of the disease.
“I think we need a national surveillance program to see where the drug-resistant strains are being found,” said U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-District 7, adding that the public should have access to the information.
Experts including Julie Louise Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, testified on methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus and efforts being taken to control the bacteria that causes skin infections at a recent U.S. House of Representatives hearing.
Based on testimony, 94,000 cases of MRSA exist in the country every year, and 18,000 people die every year, Cummings said.
But one of the most troubling facts he heard, he said, was that 85 percent of MRSA cases are coming out of hospitals.
“One-third of doctors are not washing their hands, and that?s simply not acceptable,” he said.
With a national database, Cummings said people could see which hospitals are performing best and worst.
“It will send a strong message to the medical profession for them to do better,” he said.
Maryland is one of the states that does not require MRSA cases to be reported by doctors on a case-by-case basis.
U.S. Rep. John Sarbanes, D-District 3, wrote in an e-mail to The Examiner that federal authorities should take more aggressive steps in educating the public about MRSA and other drug-resistant infections, and assist state and local agencies.
