Resistant staph infections up in Santa Clara County

If numbers continue to increase as they have over the last three months, infections would be up 74 percent over last year, according to officials. The bacteria is known as methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA. It’s a variant of the staph bacteria common in hospitals and nursing homes.

Santa Clara County reported 1,397 MRSA cases in all of 2004 and 606 for the first three months of 2005, according to county public health officer Dr. Marty Fenstersheib. The increase mirrors a national trend, he said.

Epidemiologists aren’t sure why MRSA is becoming more prevalent. They speculate that the bacteria has mutated into new strains that are more virulent.