MRSA Survivors Network announced that the 7th Annual World MRSA Day Kickoff Event and Global C. difficile Summit will be held on Sept. 26 in Hinsdale, Ill.
Here are five key notes:
1. The annual awareness event is intended to be informative for both the public and the healthcare industry.
2. Though the CDC has stated that Methicillin-resistant Staphyloccocus aureus invasive infection rates are declining in healthcare facilities, the CDC is only tracking invasive MRSA infections and the true number of MRSA infections is under-reported.
3. The United States ranks third in the world for the worst MRSA infection rates in industrial countries, according to data from the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy. The U.S. rate is nearly 25 times greater than rates in Northern European countries.
4. Also, community-acquired infections continue to rise and currently more than 50 percent of all skin infections are caused by MRSA in the country.
5. At the event, Michael S. Pulia, MD, assistant professor, division of emergency medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine & Public Health in Madison, will be given the "Person of the Year" award.
