In Other Words, Just Plain Old-Fashioned Cleanliness

The life-threatening bacterial infections known as MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, don’t respond well to antibiotics, but a new study in Veterans Affairs hospitals suggests they do respond to infection control techniques. Efforts like screening every patient for MRSA, using gowns and gloves when caring for infected patients, washing hands often, and creating a conviction among hospital staff that everyone is personally responsible for infection control were found to help reduce the rate of infections.