5 ms·

Or does it exist in places where medical care is cheap or free (Canada or the UK)?

• davak 13y ago
  The last I checked Canada didn't have near the problem with MRSA that the US has: "Similarly the United States has major problems with methicillin-resistant S aureus, vancomycin-resistant enterococci, multidrug-resistant M tuberculosis and penicillin-resistant pneumococci, whereas in Canada there is very little resistance to any of these organisms." (1) That being said, it's a very multifactorial issue so it's hard to know exactly why that is. Canada's health care is more available and more regulated. Is it that people have an easier way of getting checked, is it that not-for-profit systems have less pressure to over-prescribe antibiotics, or something else? 1. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3327906/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3327906/
• Fomite 13y ago
  Having recently been to an international Epidemiology conference, I can say that there's intense interest/concern from researchers in the UK and Europe about both MRSA and carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae. For that matter, the current strain of C. difficile which is causing so many problems was first observed in the UK and Canada.
  • tommu 13y ago
    Was it first observed and reported in these countries because they have socialized healthcare?
    • Fomite 13y ago
      Unlikely, as surveillance for C. difficile is pretty intensive in the U.S., and it was reported there shortly thereafter (which isn't particularly a surprise).