Work

SHEA Guideline for Preventing Nosocomial Transmission of Multidrug-Resistant Strains ofStaphylococcus aureusandEnterococcus

Year: 2003

Type: letter

Abstract: Antibiotic-resistant pathogens constitute an impor-tant and growing threat to the public health. To under-stand how important they are, one must recognize that infectious diseases are in aggregate the leading cause of human death worldwide and the third leading cause of human death in the United States. More than 70 % of the bacteria that cause hospital-acquired infections are resis-tant to at least one of the drugs most commonly used to treat these infections.1 Antibiotic resistance occurs when a microbe acquires a gene, which allows the microbe to inactivate the antibiotic or otherwise nullify its antimicro-bial activity. This may occur as a spontaneous, genetic mutation or involve acquisition of a mobile genetic ele-ment such as a plasmid, transposon, integron, or gene cassette. It became obvious in the 1940s and 1950s that

Source: Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology

DOI: 10.1086/502924

Authors: Kathleen Ledell, Carlene A. Muto, William R. Jarvis, Barry M. Farr

Institutions: Minnesota Department of Health, University of Pittsburgh, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, University of Virginia Health System

Language: English

Topic: Infection Control in Healthcare

Subfield: Infectious Diseases

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: bronze

OpenAlex ID: W4241768922

Cites: 54

Cited by: 1,197

Related to: 10