“CDC: Injecting drug users 16 times more likely to contract MRSA”

“People who inject recreational drugs are 16.3 times more likely to develop invasive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections than people who do not inject drugs, according to data published today in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports (MMWR).

CDC scientists looked at MRSA in drug users from 2005 to 2016 to assess how and if the opioid epidemic has affected MRSA case counts. Using six surveillance sites across the country, the researchers calculated the risk ratio of MRSA among drug users.

During the study period, 39,050 invasive MRSA cases were reported from six sites, with 2,093 (5.4%) occurring in persons who injected drugs. The estimated rate of invasive MRSA among injected drug users older than 13 years was 472.2 per 100,000 in 2011, and the estimated rate among those who did not inject drugs in the previous year was 29.0 per 100,000.

In addition, the researchers found that invasive MRSA in injected drug users rose from 3.5% to 9.2% from 2010 to 2016.”