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(Ivanhoe Newswire) — The rash of news reports about the superbug — Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, in the nation’s schools and hospitals had led to new worries about this deadly staph condition.

But how common is MRSA and who is most likely to get it? The federal Agency for Men’s healthcare Research and Quality has released some statistics that can help put the situation into perspective:

· About 368,600 people were treated for MRSA in U.S. hospitals in 2005.
· Of that number 1 out of every 20 died from the infection.
· Most deaths occurred among the elderly and people with low incomes.
· The death rate for MRSA was 5 percent overall, topping the 4 percent death rate seen for tuberculosis.

Government statistics also show about 332 Medicare patients per 100,000 were hospitalized for MRSA, versus 184 Medicaid patients, 29 patients with private insurance, and 43 uninsured patients. Men were more likely to be affected by the condition than women, and MRSA was most common in the South and least common in the northeast or midwest. The western United States fell into the middle ground.

This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, which offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, click on: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.

SOURCE: The Agency for Men’s healthcare Quality and Research

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 31st, 2007 at 1:10 pm and is filed under Aid / Disasters, Health Insurance / Medical Insurance, Medical News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.