V E TE R AN S AFFAI R S & M I LITARY M E D I CI N E O UTLO O K
VA RESEARCH:
DRUG-RESISTANT INFECTIOUS DISEASES
n THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS’ (VA) infectious disease research program is all encompassing, involving fundamental investigations of what makes a bacterium, virus, fungus, or parasite into a disease-causing pathogen; of how infectious diseases are passed from person to person; and of the effectiveness of preventive strategies, vaccines, and drugs. In recent years, the infectious disease research community has turned much of its attention to multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs), a group of pathogens that has led to an increase in microbial infections over the last few decades. For a number of reasons, our arsenal of antimicrobial drugs, so effective for decades in treating infectious microorganisms, has not evolved – but in the meantime, the organisms they were designed to kill have adapted. The U.S. Centers 16
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that at least 2 million people are infected by MDROs annually, and that at least 23,000 die each year as a result of these infections. An additional 15,000 die every year from Clostridium difficile (C. diff), a pathogen associated with long-term antibiotic use in health care settings. MDROs are a significant concern for the VA medical community, whose patient population is statistically older and more vulnerable to infection than other Americans due to battle injuries, comorbid diseases, and other factors. Many MDROs are implicated in health care-acquired infections (HAIs), which occur when pathogens colonize and linger in health care settings. One of the most virulent MDROs, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, can
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NIH PHOTO BY RHODA BAER
By Craig Collins
