Drug-resistant infections are rising dramatically, from tuberculosis to MRSA to C.diff. The war against the “superbugs” continues. In Massachusetts in 2007, the Centers for Disease Control recorded 2,500 cases of MRSA – a bacterial strain that can be fatal. CDC estimates that half a million cases of C.diff – Clostridium difficile – occur every year in the U.S., contributing to between 15,000-30,000 deaths.

How prevalent are such infections?  Hospitals are known places of infection, but where else can they occur? What are the chances of such infections spreading? And what can hospitals, health officials, and patients do to reduce and even prevent these infections?

Guest: Ronald Goodspeed, M.D., M.P.H., President, Massachusetts Coalition for the Prevention of Medical Errors

Host: Bruce Karlin, M.D.

Co-produced with Hopkinton Community Access Television, HCAM-TV, Hopkinton Mass.

Listen to the podcast (Length 24:49) (This will open your computer's default media player in a new window)

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Filed under: Physician Focus