MRSA mortality reaches 5%.

Almost 5% of all patients hospitalized in 2004 with a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection died, according to a statistical brief by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Hospital stays for patients with a MRSA infection were both longer (10 days vs. 5) and more expensive ($14,000 vs. $7,600) than stays for patients with other conditions. The number of hospital stays for MRSA increased from 1,900 in 1993 to 368,600 in 2005, and more commonly occurred in Medicare patients and those aged 65 years and older. Males and people in the South were also more likely to be hospitalized for MRSA treatment.