Infectious-disease specialists consider such antimicrobial resistance a "brewing crisis." In Salt Lake City last week, Congressman Jim Matheson held a news conference to tout his two legislative efforts to address the problem.
He introduced HR 3697, the Strategies to Address Antimicrobial Resistance, or STAAR act. The act would create an Office of Microbial Resistance, coordinate federal research and compile data about resistance.
It would encourage the development of new antibiotics but also fund projects to encourage more appropriate use of existing ones.
Another bill, HR 988, would designate March as "MRSA Awareness Month." Outbreaks of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, dubbed MRSA, commonly occur in hospitals, but cases are found in communities - in schools, among military recruits, members of sports teams and in jails.
Efforts by Utah hospitals to contain the infection include swabbing all patients, or targeting high-risk patients to test for MRSA, isolating those who are infected, and increasing hand washing by staff.
In 2006, there were 4,904 Utah MRSA cases, making it the second-most common reportable communicable disease. But state health officials question the reliability of that number. Concerned about duplication and other issues, they stopped reporting until better tracking can be developed.
