Former US Secretary of Health and Human Services Speaks Out About MRSA

“Recent media reports are misleading and grossly underestimate both the ways in which MRSA can be transmitted and the preventative measures currently available,” according to Tommy G. Thompson, former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services and former four-term Governor of Wisconsin.

Thompson added, “I am deeply concerned about MRSA and equally concerned about the misinformation being shared. MRSA is easily spread through direct contact but also via shared objects and hard surfaces. I worry about a misconception that it is only contractible if you have direct contact with someone with the infection. That is simply not the case.”

Thompson continued, “What has been most frustrating in recent weeks is the lack of attention paid to proven preventative measures that are currently available. The cost in terms of both human lives and financial burden is very real and also very preventable if proper disinfection techniques are adopted by closed population institutions such as hospitals, schools and prisons..."