One of the fastest growing infections is “Mersa” or MRSA, which stands for methicillin-resistant Staphlococcus aureus, a superbug that doesn’t respond to most antibiotics. In 1993, there were fewer than 2,000 MRSA infections in U.S. hospitals. By 2005, the figure had shot up to 368,000 according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. By June, 2007, 2.4% of all patients had MRSA hospital infections, according to the largest ever study, which was published in the American Journal of Infection Control. That would mean 880,000 victims a year.

That’s from one superbug. Imagine the number of infections from bacteria of all kinds, including such killers as VRE (vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus) and C. diff (Clostridium difficile).  Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, recently told Congress that MRSA accounts for only 8% of hospital infections.

These new facts discredit the CDC’s official 1.7 million estimate. CDC spokesperson Nicole Coffin admits “the number isn’t perfect.”  In fact, it is an irresponsible guesstimate based on a sliver of six year old (2002) data.  The CDC researchers who came up with it complained that not having actual data “complicated the problem.”

Numbers matter.  Health conditions that affect the largest number of people generally command more research dollars and public attention.