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Pilot Project in Texas Determines MRSA Reporting to be Burdensome, Costly
A trial study in several Texas counties concludes that requiring health officials to track cases of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is both burdensome and costly, Amarillo.com reports. Mandated under a bill passed in 2007, the month-long study required hospitals, labs and physician offices in select Texas counties to report any diagnosed MRSA case. According to the data, physicians reported 95 cases in Potter and Randall counties, which translates annually to 480 per 100,000 residents. Similar rates were observed in other participating counties. Although the study confirms that MRSA is prevalent and a growing problem in the community, the report concludes that "adding MRSA infections to the reportable disease list would create challenges for local and regional health departments and the Texas Department of State Health Services to implement and sustain reporting." Moreover, "clinical and hospital laboratories may not have the capabilities and resources to report each person diagnosed with [a] MRSA infection." Specifically, the report notes that "without sufficient financial support, labs, hospitals, and local and regional health departments would have a difficult time complying with the laborious and expensive task of filing up to 100,000 reports," which is the estimated number of MRSA cases reported statewide each year. Despite such barriers, public health officials contend that the information could be useful in identifying trends in infections, targeting certain demographics and developing ways to reduce the spread of diseases and infection (Pittman, Amarillo.com, 10/23/09).