Iraq healthcare in disarray, report says

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Iraq's healthcare is in disarray with doctors and nurses fleeing abroad and child death rates soaring, according to a report on Wednesday.

Up to 75 percent of Iraq's doctors, pharmacists and nurses have left their jobs since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. More than half of those have emigrated, the report by health organisation Medact said.

"The health system is in disarray, not only because of the underlying security, but owing to the lack of an institutional framework, huge staff shortages, intermittent electricity, unsafe water supply and frequent violations of medical neutrality," the report, "Rehabilitation Under Fire", said.

Iraq has only around 9,000 doctors, giving a ratio of six doctors to every 10,000 people. By comparison, the ratio in Britain is 23 to every 10,000.

"Repeated failures to recognise the special status of health services and personnel in times of conflict have created an environment in which violations of the Geneva Conventions are common," Medact said. Reuters

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U.S. Hospitals Plagued by Ten Times More MRSA Superbug Infections than Previously Thought
Nearly five percent of patients in U.S. hospitals may have acquired a particular antibiotic resistant staph infection, according to a nationwide survey conducted by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC).

Researchers surveyed a total of 1,200 hospitals and other health care facilities from all 50 states, and found 8,000 patients infected or colonized with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) -- or 46 out of every 1,000. This suggests that up to 1.2 million hospital patients across the country may be infected every year.

Colonized patients are those who were found to be carrying the bacteria in or on their bodies, but who had not showed any symptoms of disease.

"This rate is between eight and 11 times greater than previous MRSA estimates," APIC wrote.

The majority of the infections had originated within the medical facility; 67 percent arose in patients being treated for general medical conditions (such as diabetes or pulmonary or cardiovascular problems) and not in intensive care patients.

APIC recommended simple measures, such as hand washing, to prevent the spread of MRSA within medical institutions. A number of studies have shown that many health care workers are not appropriately vigilant about washing their hands consistently. More