What Is Best Way To Stop Superbug MRSA?

Swabbing every hospital patient's nose for MRSA is not the best way to prevent the spread of hard-to-treat infections, researchers said.

Hospital-wide techniques meant to stop all infections are a better bet, said the authors of a study from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Some states, including Pennsylvania, Illinois, California and New Jersey, are mandating universal nasal screening for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

But co-author Dr. Richard P. Wenzel suggested that it's better to focus on reducing all infections, rather than targeting one bug. He said that only 14 percent of hospital infections come from MRSA, so putting huge resources into stopping it would be somewhat wasteful.

The report also said that the cost of nasal swabbing tests for all patients in a screening program was estimated to be two to three times that of adding additional infection control nurses for a broad infection control program.

MRSA has become an attention-getting problem because it can cause painful sores -- or be fatal in already weakened patients -- and because it tends to spread in settings where people are grouped together, including hospitals, nursing homes and athletic facilities.