Friday, April 16th, 2010

Infection

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This micrograph depicts Gram-positive C. difficile bacteria from a stool sample culture obtained using a .1µm filter. Photo by Janice Haney Carr, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

About 100,000 people die every year due to infections acquired in a hospital, according to a new government report. According to the government's 2009 Healthcare Quality Report, hospital-acquired infections are the most common complication of hospital care -- with an estimated 1.7 million such infections occurring every year.

In this hour, we'll look at the problem, and ways to reduce the risk. We'll also talk about some of the infectious organisms that put patients at risk, from MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) to C. diff (Clostridium difficile, often called C. difficile). What can be done to help reduce the spread of these superbugs?

Guests

Elizabeth McCaughey
Former Lt. Governor, New York
Chairman and Founder, Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths
New York, New York

Brad Spellberg
Author, "Rising Plague: The Global Threat from Deadly Bacteria and Our Dwindling Arsenal to Fight Them," (Prometheus Books, 2009)
Assistant Professor, Medicine
Los Angeles Biomedical Research Center
Harbor-UCLA Medical Center
Los Angeles, California

Maryn McKenna
Author, "Superbug: The Fatal Menace of MRSA," (Free Press, 2010)
Contributing writer, Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Stuart Levy
Author, "The Antibiotic Paradox: How the Misuse of Antibiotics Destroys Their Curative Powers," (Da Capo Press, 2002)
Professor, Molecular Biology; Microbiology; Medicine
Director, Center for Adaptation Genetics and Drug Resistance
President, Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics
Tufts University
Boston, Massachusetts

Related Links

Segment produced by:Annette Heist

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Image: Magnified 20,000X, this colorized scanning electron micrograph (SEM) depicts a grouping of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteria.
Photo by Janice Haney Carr, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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