Decline in MRSA Infection Rates in Veterans Affairs Facilities

TUESDAY, Jan. 10, 2017 (HealthDay News) — Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) rates decreased through September 2015 in Veterans Affairs facilities, according to a study published in the January issue of the American Journal of Infection Control.

Noting that decreases in MRSA health-care-associated infections (HAIs) were reported in Veterans Affairs acute care in 2012, spinal cord injury units (SCIUs) in 2011, and long-term-care facilities (LTCFs) in 2012 after implementation of a prevention initiative, Martin E. Evans, M.D., from the Veterans Health Administration in Washington, D.C., and colleagues evaluated monthly data entered into a national database from 127 acute care facilities, 22 SCIUs, and 133 LTCFs to examine trends in infection rates.

The researchers found that in all three venues, admission nasal swabbing remained above 92 percent. During the analysis period, there were changes in admission prevalence, from 13.2 to 13.5 percent in acute care, from 35.1 to 32 percent in SCIUs, and from 23.1 to 25 percent in LTCFs. There were significant decreases in monthly HAI rates (87, 80.1, 80.9, and 49.4 percent in ICUs, non-ICUs, SCIUs, and LTCFs, respectively). Nationwide there were two reports of MRSA HAIs in ICUs, 20 in non-ICUs (three in SCIUs), and 31 in LTCFs during September 2015.

“MRSA HAI rates declined significantly in acute care, SCIUs, and LTCFs over eight years of the Veterans Affairs MRSA Prevention Initiative,” the authors write.

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