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Norway’s strategy for fighting drug-resistant bacteria

In case you missed this Associated Press story detailing Norway’s approach to controlling Methicillin-resistent Staphylococcus aureus infections, make sure to add it to your post-holiday reading queue.

According to the AP, Norway’s decision 25 years ago to severely limit the use of antibiotics has made it the most infection-free country in the world.

But despite Norway’s success in reducing MRSA infections, Oslo’s MRSA medical adviser, Jan Hendrik-Binder, tells the AP that bacteria transported into the country by travelers now poses an immense threat. He says:

So far we’ve managed to contain it, but if we lose this, it will be a huge problem. To be very depressing about it, we might in some years be in a situation where MRSA is so endemic that we have to stop doing advanced surgeries, things like organ transplants, if we can’t prevent infections. In the worst case scenario we are back to 1913, before we had antibiotics.

Previously: Slate takes on the battle of bacteria


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