Schumer pushes for $5 million to attack staph

October

Sen. Charles Schumer today will call for $5 million in emergency funding to combat MRSA, or these antibiotic resistant staph infections we’ve been hearing so much about in recent days.

The mild strains of the potentially deadly “super bug” has been found at Iona College and other upstate New York schools around the Finger Lakes region. A recent report written by doctors at the Centers for Disease Control sounded the alarm when it was found that the bug killed more people in 2005 than AIDS.

It is for this reason, Schumer says, the funding must be added to the fiscal year 2008 Labor, Health and Human Service appropriations bill now being considered on the Senate floor.

Schumer will also send a letter urging the Food and Drug Administration to discuss incentives for pharmaceutical companies to create new antibiotics, according to a news release.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 24th, 2007 at 11:20 am by Candice Ferrette. Print This Post | Email This Post

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