Good news about the most dangerous methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA ) bacteria and other dangerous staph infections that are usually caught in the intensive-care units in hospitals. A recent study shows that the rate of MRSA bloodstream infections connected with intravenous tubes fell almost 50 percent between 1997 and 2007.

“We may actually be starting to get a toehold on” these dangerous germs, said Dr. Buddy Creech, a Vanderbilt University infectious disease specialist who was not involved in the research. “That’s encouraging.”

The study shows that the results are most likely due to the fact that doctors and nurses are working harder at prevention efforts. These germs often live harmlessly on the skin or in the nose but can spread quickly and become deadly once they enter the bloodstream. So frequent hand-washing and instrument sterilization are generally the methods used to prevent infections.

Catheters that are typically threaded into an artery near the heart to deliver medicine or monitor vital signs were the focus of the study because these tubes sometimes are hooked up for days and can increase the risks for infection from all kinds of bacteria.

The 10-year study period suggests that stepped-up prevention efforts are starting to work. One report in the Journal of the American Medical Association, (JAMA) cautiously reported the study was evidence of substantial, but also limited, progress. The study only addresses infections in intensive-care units; it’s unclear whether MRSA infections have declined in other hospital settings.

We should do everything in our power to avoid the need to go to the hospital. Why? ……

We need to be more cautious than ever before… these are perilous days in which the spread of the superbug, MRSA ( Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus) is running rampart. ……

Ever heard of Manuka honey from New Zealand or Sidr honey from Yemen? ……

It is disturbing at the least to learn that MRSA is now found almost anywhere. And to be found more and more in children is alarming. How can we fight an infection that is resistant to most antibiotics? Less and less drugs are being able to stop MRSA. ……