Australian researchers say overcrowded hospitals and the pressures of high work loads may be contributing to the spread of drug resistant superbugs.
The researchers from the the University of Queensland and Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane say the pressure for greater efficiency by reducing the number of hospital beds and increasing patient turnover has resulted in highly stressed health-care systems with unwelcome side-effects.
Dr. Michael Whitby and his colleagues say as the populations grow, and people live longer the problem is bound to worsen.
The team carried out a review of several studies on the spread of drug-resistant germs, and found that when hospitals are filled to capacity they are more likely to have outbreaks of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and other infections.
MRSA is spread by the hands, staff clothing and contaminated medical equipment and infections can range from boils to more severe infections that affect the bloodstream, lungs and surgical sites.
Dr. Archie Clements, a population health specialist at the University of Queensland, who led the research says a number of studies have shown that doctors, nurses and other health care workers do not wash their hands as well and as frequently as recommended, and this becomes more of a problem during times of understaffing and high workload.
The researchers say overcrowded hospitals also struggle to isolate patients with MRSA and other dangerous infections and note that in Australia, the number of public hospital beds per person fell by 40 percent between 1982 and 2000, while 14 percent more patients were treated.