Antibiotic Resistance and the Threat to Public Health

Congressional Hearing:  Subcommittee on Health Antibiotic Resistance and the Threat to Public Health
Hearings – Subcommittee on Health
Wednesday, 28 April 2010 13:02

The Subcommittee on Health held a hearing entitled “Antibiotic Resistance and the Threat to Public Health” on Wednesday, April 28, 2010. The hearing explored the phenomenon of antibiotic resistance and the effects it has on human health.

Witnesses

Thomas Frieden, M.D., M.P.H., Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Anthony Fauci, M.D., Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

MEMORANDUM
April 26, 2010
To: Members of the Subcommittee on Health
Fr: Committee on Energy and Commerce Staff
Re: Subcommittee Hearing on Antibiotic Resistance

On Wednesday, April 28, 2010, at 2:00 p.m. in room 2123 of the Rayburn House Office Building, the Subcommittee on Health will hold a hearing entitled “Antibiotic Resistance and the Threat to Public Health”. The hearing will explore the phenomenon of antibiotic resistance and the effects it has on human health.

I.

INTRODUCTION: BACTERIA, ANTIBIOTICS AND ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE
Bacteria are microscopic organisms that are found naturally both inside and outside of our bodies. Sometimes bacteria can be harmless or even beneficial. There are a hundred trillion or so bacteria that live in a person’s gut and can help process food and protect people from unfriendly germs1. At other times, bacteria can be harmful to humans by infecting the body (e.g., strep infections of the throat). Viruses are different from bacteria but are also microscopic organisms that can infect the body (a viral infection of the upper respiratory tract is usually called a cold).

Antibiotics fight infections by killing or inhibiting the growth of bacteria. These drugs can be lifesaving and have dramatically reduced illness and death since the invention of
1 NIAID, Bacterial Infections: Birth of an Intestinal Ecosystem (online at www.niaid.nih.gov/topics/bacterialInfections/pages/intestinalecosystem.aspx) (accessed Apr. 19, 2010).
penicillin in 1927.2 Antibiotics are only useful against bacteria and not viruses. Antiviral drugs can be used against viruses.

Antibiotic resistance is “the ability of bacteria or other microbes to resist the effects of an antibiotic. Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria change in some way that reduces or eliminates the effectiveness of drugs, chemicals, or other agents designed to cure or prevent infections.”3 Every time antibiotics are used, sensitive bacteria are killed and resistant forms of the bacteria may survive.4 These resistant bacteria can then flourish and infect others.
The ability for bacteria to be resistant to an antibiotic can be encoded on a single segment of DNA. These DNA segments can be transferred between different strains or even different species of bacteria, and through this gene transfer, bacteria that were never exposed to the antibiotic can acquire the resistance from other bacteria.5 Some DNA segments can even encode resistance to multiple antibiotics, and so when bacteria acquire that single piece of DNA, they can become resistant to many antibiotics.6

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) observes that “the number of bacteria resistant to antibiotics has increased in the last decade. Many bacterial infections are becoming resistant to the most commonly prescribed antibiotic treatments.” According to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), “many infectious diseases are increasingly difficult to treat because of antimicrobial-resistant organisms.”7 This hearing will examine the recent trend in infections that have become more difficult to control.

II.
PUBLIC HEALTH IMPACT OF ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE

2 CDC, Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work—Antibiotic Resistance Questions & Answers (online at www.cdc.gov/getsmart/antibiotic-use/anitbiotic-resistance-faqs.html) (accessed Apr. 19, 2010).
3 CDC, Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work—Antibiotic Resistance Questions & Answers (online at www.cdc.gov/getsmart/antibiotic-use/anitbiotic-resistance-faqs.html) (accessed Apr. 19, 2010).
4 CDC, “Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work—Fast Facts” (online at http://www.cdc.gov/getsmart/antibiotic-use/fast-facts.html) (accessed Apr. 19, 2010).
5 NIAID, “Bacteria Infections” (online at http://www.niaid.nih.gov/topics/bacterialinfections/Pages/default.aspx) (accessed Apr. 19, 2010); NIAID, “Antimicrobial (Drug) Resistance: Causes” (online at http://www.niaid.nih.gov/topics/antimicrobialResistance/Understanding/Pages/causes.aspx) (accessed Apr. 19, 2010).
6 CDC, Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work—Antibiotic Resistance Questions & Answers (online at www.cdc.gov/getsmart/antibiotic-use/anitbiotic-resistance-faqs.html#d) (accessed Apr. 19, 2010).
7 NIAID, Antimicrobial (Drug) Resistance (online at www.niaid.nih.gov/topics/antimicrobialResistance/Understanding/Pages/quickFacts.aspx) (accessed Apr. 19, 2010).

Numerous press reports have highlighted the decreased ability of modern antibiotics to control deadly diseases, and CDC has described antibiotic resistance as “one of the world’s most pressing health problems.”

HOSPITAL ACQUIRED INFECTIONS

Each year nearly two million patients in the United States get an infection in a hospital, and about 90,000 die as a result of these infections.10 More than 70% of the bacteria that cause hospital-acquired infections are resistant to at least one of the antibiotics most commonly used to treat them.11 People infected with drug-resistant organisms are more likely to have longer hospital stays and require treatment with other drugs that may be less effective, more toxic, or more expensive.12 Between 5 and 10 percent of all hospital patients develop an infection, leading to an increase of about $5 billion in annual U.S. healthcare costs.13

IMPACT OF SPECIFIC BACTERIA

Some resistant organisms have garnered specific interest. In 2007, CDC experts estimated that methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was responsible for about 94,000 infections and over 18,000 deaths each year.14 Even young, healthy patients were killed by this infection.

One outbreak in relatively young patients was documented by CDC in 2004, when an outbreak of antibiotic-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii began in veterans returning from Iraq and Kuwait and from Afghanistan.15

8 Rising Threat of Infections Unfazed by Antibiotics, New York Times (Feb. 26, 2010).

9 CDC, Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work—Antibiotic Resistance Questions & Answers (online at www.cdc.gov/getsmart/antibiotic-use/anitbiotic-resistance-faqs.html) (accessed Apr. 19, 2010).

10 CDC, Campaign to Prevent Antimicrobial Resistance in Healthcare Settings (online at www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/healthcare/problem.htm) (accessed Apr. 19, 2010).

11 CDC, Campaign to Prevent Antimicrobial Resistance in Healthcare Settings (online at www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/healthcare/problem.htm) (accessed Apr. 19, 2010).

12 CDC, Campaign to Prevent Antimicrobial Resistance in Healthcare Settings (online at www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/healthcare/problem.htm) (accessed Apr. 19, 2010).

13 NIAID, Antimicrobial (Drug) Resistance: Quick Facts (online at www.niaid.nih.gov/topics/antimicrobialResistance/Understanding/Pages/quickFacts.aspx) (accessed Apr. 19, 2010).

14 Klevens RM, Invasive Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Infections in the United States, Journal of the American Medical Association (Oct. 17, 2007).

15 CDC, Acinetobacter baumannii Infections Among Patients at Military Medical Facilities Treating Injured U.S. Service Members, 2002-2004, MMWR Weekly (Nov. 19, 2004).

Other infections are becoming so resistant that few antibiotics are effective against them. Enterococci bacteria can cause serious infections, especially in people susceptible to infections. There are now strains known as vancomycin-resistant enterococci (also known as VRE) which can be resistant to even the drugs of last resort, leaving very little recourse for treating physicians.16

III.

ORIGINS OF ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE AND POTENTIAL ROUTES TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEM

According to NIAID, the broader causes for resistance could include the following:
1. Inappropriate use by physicians.
2. Inadequate diagnostics, leading to use of broad spectrum antibiotics when a specific one might be better, or leading to the use of antibiotics to treat viral infections.
3. Hospital use, because of the heavy use and the close contact among sick patients
4. Agricultural use, particularly in animal feed, although NIAID acknowledges there is debate about the public health impact.

CDC states that “widespread use of antibiotics promotes the spread of antibiotic resistance. Smart use of antibiotics is the key to controlling the spread of resistance.” 17 CDC has multiple campaigns to address antibiotic resistance: The “Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work” campaign, which focuses on the judicious use of antibiotics by physicians; the “Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work on the Farm” campaign, which focuses on use of antibiotics in agricultural settings; and the “Campaign to Prevent Antimicrobial Resistance in Healthcare Settings.”

Others, such as the Institute of Medicine, have suggested the need for additional actions, such as incentives to bring more antibiotics to market, more aggressive policies to prevent healthcare-associated infections, strengthened surveillance, and increased efforts in vaccine development and production.18

IV.

WITNESSES

The following witnesses have been invited to testify:

16 NIAID, Antimicrobial (drug) resistance: Vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) (online at www.niaid.nih.gov/topics/antimicrobialResistance/Examples/vre/Pages/default.aspx) (accessed April 19, 2010).
17 CDC, Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work—Antibiotic Resistance Questions & Answers (online at www.cdc.gov/getsmart/antibiotic-use/anitbiotic-resistance-faqs.html) (accessed Apr. 19, 2010).
18 Institute of Medicine, Microbial Threats to Health: Emergence, Detection, and Response (2003).

Thomas Frieden, MD, MPH Director Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Anthony Fauci, MD Director National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Medizone International, Inc.
Post Office Box 742
Stinson Beach, CA 94970
Telephone: 415-868-0300
Fax: 415-868-2344

This release contains certain forward looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the results of ongoing clinical studies, economic conditions, product and technology development, production efficiencies, product demand, competitive products, competitive environment, successful testing and government regulatory issues. Additional risks are identified in the company’s filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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I was pleased to note this morning (April 14, 2010) that the New York Times reported on the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Report released yesterday which noted HOSPITAL ACQUIRED INFECTIONS NEED URGENT ATTENTION.

The Report focused on Hospital Acquired Infections, noting that the, “problem of hospital-acquired infections remains as resistant to cure as the germs that contribute to an estimated 100,000 deaths a year, according to an annual government study issued Tuesday.”

Despite threats of governmental sanctions, hospitals continue to see increased rates of post-operative bloodstream infections which increased by eight percent and catheter-associated urinary tract infections which increased by four percent.

There was no change in the incidence of bloodstream infections caused by the placement of catheters in central veins. The only positive news came from a 12 percent reduction in the rate of post-operative pneumonia.

Dr. Carolyn M. Clancy, the agency’s director, pointed out that projects across the country had shown remarkable success in reducing infection rates by adhering to basic standards for hand hygiene, disinfection of patients, sterile handling of equipment and proper use of antibiotics. But at many hospitals those successes have yet to overcome an entrenched medical culture.

‘Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of health and human services, called the trend troubling but said the new health care law would ”help turn these numbers around.” Under the law, hospitals with high rates of infections will be penalized by the government starting in the 2015 fiscal year.

The agency has been releasing its Congressionally mandated reports on health care quality and disparities since 2003.

Medizone International, Inc. is a research and development company engaged in developing its AsepticSure™ System to decontaminate and sterilize hospitals, sports training facilities, schools and other critical infrastructure. A government variant is being developed for bio-terrorism counter measures. Successful decontamination by AsepticSure™ to the 6 log standard or greater has been demonstrated with C.difficile, E coli, Pseudomonas aeruginous, MRSA, VRE and Bacillius subtilis.

Medizone International, Inc.
Post Office Box 742
Stinson Beach, CA 94970
Telephone: 415-868-0300
Fax: 415-868-2344

This release contains certain forward looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the results of ongoing clinical studies, economic conditions, product and technology development, production efficiencies, product demand, competitive products, competitive environment, successful testing and government regulatory issues. Additional risks are identified in the company’s filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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Medizone International, Inc. (Dually Traded: OTCBB/OTCQB: MZEI)
(http://medizoneint.com)

Johns Hopkins Children center has published in the April issue of the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, its findings regarding community-acquired infections with drug-resistant strains of the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus.

Staph is now turn up regularly among children hospitalized in the intensive-care unit, according to their published research.

The Johns Hopkins Children’s team supports the screening all patients upon hospital admission and weekly screening thereafter regardless of symptoms because MRSA can be spread easily to other patients on the unit.

Community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) is a virulent subset of the bacterium and impervious to the most commonly used antibiotics. Most CA-MRSA causes skin and soft-tissue infections, but in ill people or in those with weakened immune systems, it can lead to invasive, sometimes fatal, infections.

In 2007, The Johns Hopkins Hospital began screening all patients upon admission and weekly thereafter until discharge. Some states have made patient screening mandatory but the protocols vary widely from hospital to hospital and from state to state.

“MRSA has become so widespread in the community, that it’s become nearly impossible to predict which patients harbor MRSA on their body,” says lead investigator Aaron Milstone, M.D., M.H.S., a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Hopkins Children’s.

“Point-of-admission screening in combination with other preventive steps, like isolating the patient and using contact precaution, can help curb the spread of dangerous bacterial infections to other vulnerable patients.”

The new Johns Hopkins study found that 6 percent of the 1,674 children admitted to the pediatric intensive-care unit (PICU) at Hopkins Children’s between 2007 and 2008 were colonized with MRSA, meaning they carried MRSA but did not have an active infection. Of the 72 children who tested positive for MRSA, 60 percent harbored the community-acquired strain and 75 percent of all MRSA carriers had no previous history or MRSA. MRSA was more common in younger children, 3 years old on average, and among African-American children. The reasons behind the age and racial disparities in MRSA colonization remain unclear, the investigators say. Patients with MRSA had longer hospital stays (eight days) than MRSA-free patients (five days) and longer PICU stays (three days) than non-colonized patients (two days).

Eight patients who were MRSA-free upon admission became colonized with MRSA while in the PICU. Of the eight, four developed clinical signs of infection, meaning that the other four would have never been identified as MRSA carriers if the hospital was not performing weekly screenings of all patients.

underscore the benefit of screening all patients upon hospital admission and weekly screening thereafter regardless of symptoms because MRSA can be spread easily to other patients on the unit.

Community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) is a virulent subset of the bacterium and impervious to the most commonly used antibiotics. Most CA-MRSA causes skin and soft-tissue infections, but in ill people or in those with weakened immune systems, it can lead to invasive, sometimes fatal, infections.

In 2007, The Johns Hopkins Hospital began screening all patients upon admission and weekly thereafter until discharge. Some states have made patient screening mandatory but the protocols vary widely from hospital to hospital and from state to state.

“MRSA has become so widespread in the community, that it’s become nearly impossible to predict which patients harbor MRSA on their body,” says lead investigator Aaron Milstone, M.D., M.H.S., a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Hopkins Children’s.

“Point-of-admission screening in combination with other preventive steps, like isolating the patient and using contact precaution, can help curb the spread of dangerous bacterial infections to other vulnerable patients.”

The new Johns Hopkins study found that 6 percent of the 1,674 children admitted to the pediatric intensive-care unit (PICU) at Hopkins Children’s between 2007 and 2008 were colonized with MRSA, meaning they carried MRSA but did not have an active infection. Of the 72 children who tested positive for MRSA, 60 percent harbored the community-acquired strain and 75 percent of all MRSA carriers had no previous history or MRSA. MRSA was more common in younger children, 3 years old on average, and among African-American children. The reasons behind the age and racial disparities in MRSA colonization remain unclear, the investigators say. Patients with MRSA had longer hospital stays (eight days) than MRSA-free patients (five days) and longer PICU stays (three days) than non-colonized patients (two days).

Eight patients who were MRSA-free upon admission became colonized with MRSA while in the PICU. Of the eight, four developed clinical signs of infection, meaning that the other four would have never been identified as MRSA carriers if the hospital was not performing weekly screenings of all patients.

Medizone International, Inc. is a research and development company engaged in developing its AsepticSure™ System to decontaminate and sterilize hospitals, sports training facilities, schools and other critical infrastructure. A government variant is being developed for bio-terrorism counter measures. Successful decontamination by AsepticSure™ to the 6 log standard or greater has been demonstrated with C.difficile, E coli, Pseudomonas aeruginous, MRSA, VRE and Bacillius subtilis.

Medizone International, Inc.
Post Office Box 742
Stinson Beach, CA 94970
Telephone: 415-868-0300
Fax: 415-868-2344

This release contains certain forward looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the results of ongoing clinical studies, economic conditions, product and technology development, production efficiencies, product demand, competitive products, competitive environment, successful testing and government regulatory issues. Additional risks are identified in the company’s filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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Medizone International, Inc. (OTCBB and OTCQB: MZEI) (http://medizoneint.com)

The April issue of the journal, Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, published the study in which researchers analyzed hospital data and identified 37,169 patients with either MRSA infection or colonization.

The Canadian Study looked a the infections colonized by the superbug MRSA since 1995, both in hospitals and within the community where it was found MRSA rose 17 fold between 1995 and 2007.

Over the 13-year period, there was also a three-fold jump in the number of MRSA infections associated with more virulent strains from the community, say researchers from the Canadian Nosocomial Surveillance Program, who conducted the study based on data from 48 sentinel hospitals across the country.

“This is the most comprehensive and representative picture we have to date of MRSA in Canada,” said lead author Dr. Andrew Simor, chief of microbiology and infectious diseases at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto.

They found the overall incidence of MRSA increased to more than 11 per 10,000 patient days in 2007 from 0.65 per 10,000 patient days in 1995. Infections associated with MRSA strains from the community also rose significantly, to 23 per cent in 2007 from six per cent in 1995.

Researches noted: “We need to continue to be vigilant in controlling this infection … and developing more effective interventions to control the rapid emergence of more virulent CA-MRSA strains from the community that have now been introduced into hospital settings in Canada.”

CA-MRSA is the acronym used to describe cases of drug-resistant Staph caught in the community, not in hospitals. Strains caught in hospitals are generally different from those caught outside hospitals.

Simor said that in the last two years, almost 40 per cent of all MRSA cases are believed to have arisen in the community, with those at highest risk including younger people, the homeless and imprisoned, and intravenous-drug users. Aboriginal Canadians also seem to have an elevated risk.

Community-associated MRSA, which has sporadically broken out among professional and amateur sports teams, usually causes severe skin and soft-tissue infections _ but may also cause a fatal lung infection known as necrotizing pneumonia.

Contact: Medizone International, Inc.
http://www.medizoneint.com

Telephone: 415-868-0300
Fax: 415-868-2344
Address:
Post Office Box 742
Stinson Beach, CA 94970

This release contains certain forward looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the results of ongoing clinical studies, economic conditions, product and technology development, production efficiencies, product demand, competitive products, competitive environment, successful testing and government regulatory issues. Additional risks are identified in the company’s filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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Medizone International, Inc. (OTCBB and OTCQB: MZEI) (http://medizoneint.com)

I want to take a closer look at what the new Healthcare Law does in terms of hospital acquired infections — and why Medizone International’s successful decontamination by AsepticSure™ to the 6 log standard or greater on hospital surfaces represents solution for Hospital Administrators in terms of revenue.

Medizone International has demonstrated successful decontamination by AsepticSure™ to the 6 log standard or greater has been demonstrated with:

* C.difficile
* E coli
* Pseudomonas aeruginous
* MRSA
* VRE
* Bacillius subtilis

The AsepticSure™ hospital sterilization system decontaminates and sterilizes:

* Hospitals
* Sports training facilities
* Schools
* Critical infrastructure

The AsepticSure™ system is an answer to a serious need both nationally and internationally. This means tremendous, tremendous shareholder value.

Telephone: 415-868-0300
Fax: 415-868-2344
Address:
Post Office Box 742
Stinson Beach, CA 94970

This release contains certain forward looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the results of ongoing clinical studies, economic conditions, product and technology development, production efficiencies, product demand, competitive products, competitive environment, successful testing and government regulatory issues. Additional risks are identified in the company’s filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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Medizone International, Inc. (OTCBB and OTCQB: MZEI) (http://medizoneint.com)

Scientists at Britain’s Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute created genetic blueprints of 63 samples of MRSA collected around the world between 1982 and 2003, and tracked even minor DNA variation to trace how one common strain — called ST239 — spread, from continent to continent and within one hospital in Thailand.

What strikes me as so significant about this research is the pervasiveness of MRSA and the crucial role AsepticSure™ has to play in the containment.

Research, published in the journal Science, established that a strain of MRSA probably emerged in Europe in the 1960s. This lends support to the theory that the widespread introduction of antibiotics in that decade may have spawned MRSA. Natural selection would have favored resistant strains that could survive the antibiotic onslaught.

By using DNA-mapping to identify changes in the bacteria’s genetic code, scientists were able to track the transmission of the ST239 strain of MRSA between continents and from patient to patient.

It was indicated that hospital outbreaks of drug-resistant staph bacteria do not always spread from one patient to another, but that numerous people — patients, visitors or staff — bring in the bacteria.

The study indicated that multiple subtypes or MRSA exist that standard testing cannot identify.

It is estimated that about one in every three people carries staph aureus in their noses with no symptoms but still can infect others; about 1 million people in the U.S. carry the MRSA type. The germs usually cause skin infections but can be deadly if they penetrate the bloodstream or organs.

The resulting family tree suggests this MRSA strain originated in Europe in the 1960s, just as antibiotics were being widely used. It spread to South America and became dominant in parts of Asia.

Of 20 ST239 patients during seven months in that Thai hospital, only five shared the same exact infection. The germs’ genetic diversity showed the rest were coincidentally brought into the hospital.

Hospital-acquired MRSA has long been thought more dangerous than MRSA caught in ordinary community settings, perhaps because the already hospitalized are more vulnerable.

This study shows “there’s a blurring in distinction” between the two, said study co-author Dr. Sharon Peacock of the University of Cambridge. Hospital efforts such as hand-washing and room-cleaning only help so much if MRSA spreaders keep walking in the front door.

Britain last year began requiring that some patients be tested for MRSA upon hospital admission, she said, and some U.S. hospitals do that, too. But Vanderbilt’s Creech cautioned that a simple yes-no MRSA swab does not give the detail necessary to tell which subtype could cause trouble.

This more sophisticated testing takes a few weeks and about $300 per sample, making it suitable mostly for researchers tracing outbreak hot spots. But Creech said similar study is under way to better understand MRSA’s genetics in hopes of developing a vaccine.

Contact: Medizone International, Inc. (OTCBB: MZEI)
http://www.medizoneint.com

Telephone: 415-868-0300
Fax: 415-868-2344
Address:
Post Office Box 742
Stinson Beach, CA 94970

Medizone International, Inc., is a research and development company engaged in developing its AsepticSure™ System to decontaminate and sterilize hospitals, sports training facilities, schools and other critical infrastructure. A government variant is being developed for bio-terrorism counter measures.  Successful decontamination by AsepticSure™ to the 6 log standard or greater has been demonstrated with C.difficile, E coli, Pseudomonas aeruginous, MRSA, VRE and Bacillius subtilis.

This release contains certain forward looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the results of ongoing clinical studies, economic conditions, product and technology development, production efficiencies, product demand, competitive products, competitive environment, successful testing and government regulatory issues. Additional risks are identified in the company’s filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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Medizone International, Inc. (OTCBB and OTCQB: MZEI) (http://medizoneint.com)

A recent study from Duke Infection Control Outreach Network, Duke University, addressed rates of Clostridium difficile infections.  The good news is that AsepticSure™  is equally effective in terms of its kill rate against c-diff as it is against MRSA.

The study presented at the Fifth Decennial International Conference on Healthcare-Associated Infections indicated rates of Clostridium difficile infections (CDI) surpassed infection rates for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) according to researchers studying epidemiology of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in community hospitals in the southeast U.S. found that.

“Despite the amount of attention given to MRSA, our study shows that CDI has emerged as the leading healthcare-associated infection in our network of hospitals,” said Becky Miller, MD, Duke Infection Control Outreach Network, Duke University. “In addition, our study likely underestimates the true scope of the problem since we did not include cases of community-onset healthcare-associated CDI.”

This is the first large study to use patient level surveillance data (i.e. numerators and denominators) to compare the rates of healthcare-associated CDI and MRSA.  Previous studies were based on estimates using hospital ICD-9-CM discharge diagnosis codes.

Dr. Miller and her colleagues studied 30 community hospitals in the Southeastern United States which are members of the Duke Infection Control Outreach Network (DICON). Over the 18-month period, which included more than 2 million patient days, researchers compared 607 cases of CDI and 508 cases of infections due to MRSA.

To better understand and identify infection trends, researchers also examined 949 other cases of HAIs. They found bloodstream infections occurred in 481 patients on general hospital wards and device-related infections occurred in 468 patients in intensive care units (ICU). ICU device-related infections included 197 catheter-associated urinary tract infections, 102 ventilator-associated pneumonias and 182 catheter-associated bloodstream infections.

“These findings are a reminder that prevention priorities must include the prevention of CDI”, said Dr. Denise Cardo, director of CDC’s Division of Healthcare Quality and Promotion. “CDI is an important cause of healthcare-associated infections and deserves attention.”

Dr. Miller noted that additional epidemiologic studies are needed to determine whether prescribing practices, geographic differences, hospital characteristics, or other factors affected infection rates found in this study.

Medizone International, Inc. is a research and development company engaged in developing its AsepticSure™ System to decontaminate and sterilize hospitals, sports training facilities, schools and other critical infrastructure. A government variant is being developed for bio-terrorism counter measures. Successful decontamination by AsepticSure™ to the 6 log standard or greater has been demonstrated with C.difficile, E coli, Pseudomonas aeruginous, MRSA, VRE and Bacillius subtilis.

Medizone International, Inc.
Post Office Box 742
Stinson Beach, CA 94970
Telephone: 415-868-0300
Fax: 415-868-2344

This release contains certain forward looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the results of ongoing clinical studies, economic conditions, product and technology development, production efficiencies, product demand, competitive products, competitive environment, successful testing and government regulatory issues. Additional risks are identified in the company’s filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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There is a lethal new strain of MRSA according to a study presented at the 47th annual meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America in Philadelphia. The study indicates 50 percent of patients who contracted the USA600 strain died within 30 days compared to only 11 percent of patients infected with different types of MRSA strain.

All deaths occurred within the first 15 days of infection.

The USA600 strain has distinctive qualities that could be linked to increased mortality rates.

The USA600 strain of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteremia is potentially lethal and is associated with vancomycin resistance, according to a study from the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit. USA600 occurs mainly in older, sicker patients with more comorbidities. In the study, 38% of those with the strain were from nursing homes. Researchers looked at MRSA bloodstream infections at Henry Ford Hospital from 2005 to 2008. Of 420 blood stream infections, 16 were USA600-positive. Of the 16 patients with USA600, 80% failed (death within 30 days, positive blood cultures after 10 days, or new MRSA bloodstream infection within 30 days of treatment); and 20% got better. Mortality in patients with the USA600 strain was 50% (eight deaths), compared with 11% in those with non-USA600 MRSA.

Medizone International, Inc. is a research and development company engaged in developing its AsepticSure™ System to decontaminate and sterilize hospitals, sports training facilities, schools and other critical infrastructure. A government variant is being developed for bio-terrorism counter measures. Successful decontamination by AsepticSure™ to the 6 log standard or greater has been demonstrated with C.difficile, E coli, Pseudomonas aeruginous, MRSA, VRE and Bacillius subtilis.

Medizone International, Inc.
Post Office Box 742
Stinson Beach, CA 94970
Telephone: 415-868-0300
Fax: 415-868-2344

This release contains certain forward looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the results of ongoing clinical studies, economic conditions, product and technology development, production efficiencies, product demand, competitive products, competitive environment, successful testing and government regulatory issues. Additional risks are identified in the company’s filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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Medizone International, Inc. (OTCBB/OTCQB: MZEI)
(http://medizoneint.com)

This You Tube Video explains clearly and simply how the two common conditions caused by hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) killed 48,000 people and ramped up health care costs by $8.1 billion in 2006 alone.

AsepticSure™ has the potential to become fundamental in hospital management.

The volume of the use for a commercial product like the AsepticSure™ with reliable 6 log (99.9999%) “Super Bug” kill rate on an international scale is tremendous.

Last week Medizone International noted that a typical protocol might have a hospital perform a first cleaning of 95 minutes to fully sterilize the space, which would be followed by cleanings, perhaps as infrequently as one time per week for lower risk settings, requiring only 80 minutes to complete.

The study released in February 2010 in the Archives of Internal Medicine is the largest nationally representative study to date of the toll taken by sepsis and pneumonia, two conditions often caused by deadly microbes, including the antibiotic-resistant bacteria MRSA.  This YouTube Video features the author of a recent Duke University Study which looks at the prevalence of MRSA in hosptials.

“In many cases, these conditions could have been avoided with better infection control in hospitals,” said Ramanan Laxminarayan, Ph.D., principal investigator for Extending the Cure, a project examining antibiotic resistance based at the Washington, D.C. think-tank Resources for the Future.

“Infections that are acquired during the course of a hospital stay cost the United States a staggering amount in terms of lives lost and health care costs,” he said. “Hospitals and other health care providers must act now to protect patients from this growing menace.”

Laxminarayan and his colleagues analyzed 69 million discharge records from hospitals in 40 states and identified two conditions caused by health care-associated infections: sepsis, a potentially lethal systemic response to infection and pneumonia, an infection of the lungs and respiratory tract.

The researchers looked at infections that developed after hospitalization. They zeroed in on infections that are often preventable, like a serious bloodstream infection that occurs because of a lapse in sterile technique during surgery, and discovered that the cost of such infections can be quite high: For example, people who developed sepsis after surgery stayed in the hospital 11 days longer and the infections cost an extra $33,000 to treat per person.

Even worse, the team found that nearly 20 percent of people who developed sepsis after surgery died as a result of the infection. “That’s the tragedy of such cases,” said Anup Malani, a study co-author, investigator at Extending the Cure, and professor at the University of Chicago. “In some cases, relatively healthy people check into the hospital for routine surgery. They develop sepsis because of a lapse in infection control—and they can die.”

The team also looked at pneumonia, an infection that can set in if a disease-causing microbe gets into the lungs—in some cases when a dirty ventilator tube is used. They found that people who developed pneumonia after surgery, which is also thought to be preventable, stayed in the hospital an extra 14 days. Such cases cost an extra $46,000 per person to treat. In 11 percent of the cases, the patient died as a result of the pneumonia infection.

According to the authors, HAIs frequently are caused by microbes that defy treatment with common antibiotics. “These superbugs are increasingly difficult to treat and, in some cases, trigger infections that ultimately cause the body’s organs to shut down,” said Malani.

Based on their research, study authors were able to estimate the annual number of deaths and health care costs due to sepsis and pneumonia that is actually preventable.

This study was supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Pioneer Portfolio, which funds innovative ideas that may lead to breakthroughs in the future of health and health care.

The sheer scope of the application of AsepticSure™ is incredibly broad.

Medizone International, Inc. is a research and development company engaged in developing its AsepticSure™ System to decontaminate and sterilize hospitals, sports training facilities, schools and other critical infrastructure. A government variant is being developed for bio-terrorism counter measures. Successful decontamination by AsepticSure™ to the 6 log standard or greater has been demonstrated with C.difficile, E coli, Pseudomonas aeruginous, MRSA, VRE and Bacillius subtilis.

( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivz6nw2wMJk )

Medizone International, Inc.
Post Office Box 742
Stinson Beach, CA 94970
Telephone: 415-868-0300
Fax: 415-868-2344

This release contains certain forward looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the results of ongoing clinical studies, economic conditions, product and technology development, production efficiencies, product demand, competitive products, competitive environment, successful testing and government regulatory issues. Additional risks are identified in the company’s filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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Medizone International, Inc. (OTCBB and OTCQB: MZEI) (http://medizoneint.com)

Hospital Acquired Infections are taking front and center stage EVERY WHERE.

For the first time ever four organizations came together last week in Atlanta to work together to eliminate hospital acquired infections:

1. Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA)
2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
3. Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC)
4. Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA)

The meeting entitled, “The Fifth Decennial: International Conference on Healthcare-Associated Infections 2010″ represents the first time that the four leading scientific organizations collectively committed to infection prevention. The four organizations are working together to further a scientific and educational agenda toward elimination of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs).

Infectious diseases discussed included organisms such as MRSA, C. difficile and Gram-negative bacteria, standardization of reporting so that adequate comparisons may be made across healthcare settings, and development and implementation of best practices in all types of healthcare facilities across the country.

The purpose of the meeting was to set the agenda for healthcare-associated infection (HAI) prevention for the next decade.

“Healthcare-associated infections can have tragic outcomes,” said Thomas Frieden, MD, MPH director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “This meeting brings together experts from around the world to share the latest strategies in infection prevention, bringing us closer to our goal of eliminating healthcare-associated infections.”

This short video explains the need for AsepticSure™:   <a href=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivz6nw2wMJk”><em>You Tube </em>Video</a> <strong>.</strong>

<strong><strong>Contact </strong></strong>

Medizone International, Inc. is a research and development company engaged in developing its AsepticSure™ System to decontaminate and sterilize hospitals, sports training facilities, schools and other critical infrastructure. A government variant is being developed for bio-terrorism counter measures. Successful decontamination by AsepticSure™ to the 6 log standard or greater has been demonstrated with C.difficile, E coli, Pseudomonas aeruginous, MRSA, VRE and Bacillius subtilis.

Medizone International, Inc.
Post Office Box 742
Stinson Beach, CA 94970
Telephone: 415-868-0300
Fax: 415-868-2344

This release contains certain forward looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the results of ongoing clinical studies, economic conditions, product and technology development, production efficiencies, product demand, competitive products, competitive environment, successful testing and government regulatory issues. Additional risks are identified in the company’s filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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