Virginia Logs At Least 35 MRSA Deaths in 2008

At least 35 people have died due to Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA in 2008, the state of Virginia is reporting. There were 1,380 cases of the staph infection in all. Gov. Tim Kaine ordered medical labs to report serious cases of MRSA to the state health department following a teenager's death last year. The numbers have been compiled from Dec. 1, 2007 through the end of November. 

The state health department spokesperson says the numbers in Virginia are comparable to those nationwide, though only about 30 percnt of cases listed a known outcome, so the actual MRSA death rate could be higher. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates there were more than 94,000 invasive MRSA infections in the United States in 2005. More than 18,000 of those resulted in death.

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