The CDC also has identified at least 12 MRSA subtypes. One new variant at large in the population killed a Virginia youth last fall and can spread in gyms, locker rooms and other community settings.
State Sen. Lisa A. Gladden, a Baltimore Democrat, proposed legislation this year that would have required Maryland's hospitals to screen patients they consider at high risk of infection - such as those previously infected or transferred from nursing homes.
Several states have enacted similar mandates, and the Department of Veterans Affairs recently began requiring its hospitals to conduct MRSA screenings.
But Gladden's legislation was killed in the Senate Finance Committee last month after the Maryland Hospital Association - along with a variety of health officials - argued that safeguards are evolving. The association is sponsoring public forums on MRSA at hospitals around the state.
The legislation's opponents said yesterday that the Swiss study supports their arguments that mandatory screening is unwise. "It reinforces my belief that embedding guidelines into law is just bad law," said Dr. William Minogue, executive director of the Maryland Patient Safety Center. "MRSA is a moving target."
But advocates for improved screening argue that the MRSA legislation is necessary because hospitals are moving too slowly in screening patients.
"This does not invalidate the 200 studies that support the approach we've been advocating," said Michael Bennett, who as president of the Coalition for Patients Rights has fought unsuccessfully for MRSA legislation for three years. "Those who are against this are against this because they just don't want to be bothered with it."
For information about the MRSA forums, visit www.mdhospitals.org.
dennis.obrien@baltsun.com
