10
Loading video...
By Amanda Greenwood
Associate News Editor
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
Drug-resistant superbugs, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a drug-resistant form of the bacterium S. aureus, continue to pose a major danger across the United States, with new federal data highlighting the burden of potentially deadly pathogens that can evade the medicines commonly used to treat them.
CDC data reveals significant differences in the number of drug-resistant MRSA infections recorded across U.S. states in 2024.
Read More on News
The map shows where the largest numbers were reported, with California recording 540, Pennsylvania 385 and Texas 270.
Why MRSA Is A ‘Serious Threat’
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) classifies MRSA as a “serious threat” requiring “prompt and sustained action.” It estimates that, in 2023, it caused 220,997 cases among hospitalized patients, 7,499 associated deaths, more than $1.55 billion in healthcare costs. About 40 to 50 percent of infections in hospitals are caused by MRSA.
The CDC says that MRSA is especially difficult to control because S. aureus usually lives on the skin or inside the nose without causing any signs of illness. Around one in three people carries ordinary S. aureus, while approximately two in every 100 carries MRSA. The bacteria can cause infections if they enter the body through broken skin, wounds or medical devices.
Unlike ordinary staph (the general term for Staphylococcus bacteria), MRSA has developed resistance to several antibiotics, making infections harder to treat. This type of resistance, often referred to as antimicrobial resistance, develops when bacteria or fungi gain the ability to survive medicines designed to kill them. Resistant organisms can then multiply, potentially making infections harder or, in extreme cases, impossible to treat.
Most staph infections are comparatively minor skin infections, but MRSA can infect the blood, lungs, bones, skin, soft tissue, and other parts of the body. Serious complications include pneumonia, bloodstream infections and sepsis, the body’s extreme response to infection. Untreated infections can be fatal.
Americans can be exposed to MRSA both inside and outside hospitals. Of the CDC’s estimated hospitalized MRSA cases in 2023, 16 percent were classified as hospital-onset and 84 percent as community-onset, although some community-onset patients may previously have received healthcare or lived in nursing homes.
Which Other Superbugs Pose the Greatest Threat?
The CDC’s four “urgent threats” are:
- Candida auris (C. auris)
- Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter
- Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales
- Drug-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae
Unlike MRSA, which is a bacterium, C. auris is a fungus. Carbapenem-resistant organisms are bacteria that resist carbapenems, powerful antibiotics often reserved for severe infections, while drug-resistant gonorrhea threatens the shrinking number of medicines available to treat a common sexually transmitted infection.
MRSA is one of 13 “serious threats.”
Others include Clostridioides difficile, drug-resistant tuberculosis, drug-resistant Salmonella, drug-resistant Shigella, drug-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae, multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus.
MRSA is particularly serious because it can spread rapidly in both communities and healthcare facilities. Hospital patients, nursing-home residents, people with surgical wounds or implanted devices, athletes, people who inject drugs and those living or working in crowded settings face increased risks.
How Americans Can Protect Themselves
...
The CDC says that MRSA can “survive on some surfaces for hours, days or even weeks” so it recommends washing hands and bathing regularly, particularly after exercise; keeping cuts and scrapes clean and covered; and avoiding shared towels, razors and washcloths. People should place a barrier between bare skin and shared surfaces such as gym benches and clean frequently touched equipment.
Possible MRSA infections may appear as red, swollen, painful or warm bumps containing pus, sometimes accompanied by fever. The CDC advises contacting a healthcare provider if symptoms include fever or fail to improve within 48 hours, and warns people not to squeeze or pop suspicious sores.
Antibiotics should also be used, but only as prescribed. Unnecessary or inappropriate use gives susceptible organisms the opportunity to die giving resistant ones the chance to survive and spread, further weakening the effectiveness of essential medicines.
Newsweek has reached out to the CDC for comment.
Newsweek’s reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: John Fitzpatrick and Emma Lee-Sang
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines