Congressman Introduces Bill to Improve MRSA Prevention|ABC 7 News

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Congressman Introduces Bill to Improve MRSA Prevention

posted 6:11 am Wed November 21, 2007 - Baltimore

tags: staph • mrsa • cummings

ABC 7 News - Congressman Introduces Bill to Improve MRSA Prevention

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Concerned over the spread of antibiotic resistant strains of staph bacteria, Maryland Congressman Elijah Cummings announced Tuesday that he has introduced a bill to improve the prevention, detection and treatment of infectious diseases. The bill would, among other things, require hospitals to report infection data to the federal Centers for Disease Control. It would mandate a feasibility study on the use of quality improvement payments to reward hospitals for reducing infection rates and create an interagency working group to coordinate federal efforts.

An estimated 90,000 people in the United States fall ill each year from methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA. While it is not clear how many die from the infection, one estimate put MRSA deaths at more than 18,000, or slightly higher than U.S. AIDS deaths.

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