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MRSA: The Latest Developments on Eradicating this Deadly Superbug

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The dreaded Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) is an infection caused by the Staphylococcus Aureus bacteria. This superbug is a strain which has developed a resistance to antibiotics and can be fatal. It is found mainly in hospitals and nursing homes and consequently it affects those who are sick and the elderly who have weakened immune systems.

Cases of MRSA have soared since the 1980s and it cost $6 billion last year in the USA alone, not to mention taking 19,000 lives. MRSA kills tens of thousands of patients each year in some of the top hospitals across the USA, Europe and Asia. In the UK, MRSA has soared from 2% of all staph infections in the early 1990s to 45%; in Israel the figure is 44%, in Japan 88% (causing 17,000 deaths annually) and in Norway less than 1%. That’s right – almost zero. Back in the 1980s Norway responded quickly and aggressively to this new threat and their moves have paid off.

Colorized SEM of MRSA (Courtesy of WikiPedia.com)

A key part of Norway’s strategy was to cut back on the use of drugs, particularly anti-biotics wherever possible. Doctors track the source of each case and test anyone who may have been in contact with them. Patients who get MRSA are isolated and medical staff who test positive stay home, on full pay. When dormant, the bacteria are easily detected and destroyed using antibiotics. Last year the only diagnosed cases in Norway came from patients who had been abroad.

Norway’s model is not only successful, but also cheap and thoroughly effective. As antibiotics are prescribed much less frequently, patients do not develop a resistance to them. Overuse of medicines leads, over time, to mutations of once curable diseases such as tuberculosis and malaria, making them harder to treat and eradicate. Unlike in the USA, drug manufacturers in Norway are not allowed to advertise, thereby reducing patient demand for prescription drugs.

The question is, can Norway’s success be replicated elsewhere, and what will it take to do so? In the small town of Kings Lynn, in the UK, Dr Lynne Liebowitz, microbiologist, sought permission to experiment on a smaller scale. She asked doctors to almost halt using the two antibiotics known for provoking MRSA infections. This resulted in MRSA incidents falling dramatically from 47 cases down to just one in a year.

Other hospitals are now beginning to stand up and tackle this issue. In Billings, Montana they took the challenge, increased screening, isolated patients who had MRSA and made all staff responsible for better hygiene. Their MRSA incidents fell by 89%. A screening and isolation program is also used in the 153 Veterans Affairs Hospitals in the USA with similarly encouraging results. It saves lives, saves pain, saves on staff and ultimately saves money. Sometimes the simplest ideas are the best, but as yet not everyone is getting the message.