A new study in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that intensive-care patients staying in rooms previously occupied by patients with antibiotic-resistant Staph infections (MRSA) were more likely to contract Staph infections than patients staying in rooms whose prior occupants were not infected. The study found similar results for antibiotic-resistant enterococci (VRE).
3.8% of patients in rooms whose previous occupants had MRSA also contracted the infection. 2.8% of other patients contracted the infection. The rates for VRE were 4.5% and 2.8% respectively. The report found that the extra risk caused about 1 in 20 cases of infection. Longer post-ICU stays increased the risk of infection.
Meanwhile, the Infectious Diseases Society of America is reporting that MRSA can lead to a potentially deadly flesh-eating condition known as necrotizing fasciitis. And the group also found a link between antibiotic use and MRSA infection.