Hospital-acquired staph infections have been terrorizing patients for years, but the number of infections has finally dropped; an antibiotic-resistant strain is still at large.
In the past decade staph infections fell by 30 percent, while rates hospital-related staph cases fell by an impressive 50 percent, Reuters reported.
The number drug-resistant infections, which are extremely difficult to treat, hardly changed.
"The good news is... the most serious kind of infection that lands people in hospitals and kills people is going down in the U.S.," study leader Dr. Raymund Dantes, of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said, Reuters reported.
The study reported that in 2011 there were 80,500 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections, in 2005 there were 111,300.
There are about 11,000 deaths from staph each year, which is similar to the rate of flu-related fatalities, the Associated Press via ABC 7 reported.
Antibiotics like penicillin and streptomycin have been used to treat staph and other infections since the 1940s, but the bacteria has mutated to resist the treatment in some cases.
The new "super-bug" is responsible for the deaths of about 600 people each year, the AP reported. The bacteria can ignore even the last-line treatment, antibiotics called carbapenems. If the situation gets worse doctors have warned they may be reluctant to perform invasive sugeries, such as procedures to treat cancer.
"If we're not careful, the medicine chest will be empty" when doctors need infection-fighting drugs, CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden said, the AP reported.
Staph infections can be acquired in a variety of place, including the gym and or a public shower; hospital-related infections have been a problem in the U.S. over the past several decades. Hospitals have been working to reduce the spread of the hard-to-treat infection, Reuters reported.
In 2005 there were about 9.5 infections in every 100,000 people, now that number has dropped to 4.5. The rate of infections transmitted from an in-home healthcare worker also fell from 21 infections per 100,000 people to 15.
People with weakened immune systems, open wounds, and other health issues such as diabetes are most at risk of infection MayoClinic reported. Invasive hospital equipment such as urinary catheters and feeding tubes can carry the infection. Contact sports have also been shown to increase the risk of transmission.
A study by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found people nearest to farms that used pig manure were 38 percent more likely to contract the bacteria, Reuters reported.
"I think there are several possible environmental explanations," Casey said, including that the antibiotic-resistant bacteria and antibiotics from the manure may get into the air or water and end up on people's skin," researcher Joan Casey of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said.
Staph can cause boils, impetigo rash, cellulitis (an infection of the deepest skin layers), and Staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome, MayoClinic reported.
If the infection enters the blood stream it can cause an infection Bacteremia, which can infect a variety of organs and bones. Staph can also lead to toxic shock syndrome and septic arthritis.
One should contact a doctor if symptoms such as "an area of red, painful, irritated skin," pus filled blisters, or fever appear.
