Reports that cases of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus are on the rise and that Hawai'i has the highest prevalence rate in the country should be cause for concern.

Certainly, there are many things all of us can do to reduce exposure to staph — including good basic hygiene, such as frequent handwashing, not sharing personal items such as towels, and seeing your doctor early if cuts and scrapes are red, sore or swollen. MRSA infections can range from mild skin infections to severe infections in the bloodstream or lungs. And infections can occur when the staph bacteria enter the body through skin cuts.

But most MRSA infections occur in healthcare facilities and so we must also rely on the health experts to increase their vigilance against the spread of infection.

As Advertiser writer Greg Wiles reported this week, Hawai'i hospitals are stepping up efforts to fight the spread of the antibiotic-resistant "superbug."

The Queen's Medical Center has made reducing these infections one of its goals this year, Kaiser Permanente has formulated a strategy for preventing spread of the infection among patients, and other hospitals are also focusing on reducing infection rates.

As Wiles reported, Queen's last year began a test project focusing on reducing MRSA at two intensive care units by examining practices such as effective hand hygiene before and after patient contact, and proper use of gloves and cleaning of equipment.

While it's good to see the hospitals are focused on reducing MRSA infections, it is somewhat disheartening that such basic hygiene rules need to be reinforced in a hospital setting. It is also disheartening that hospital officials know that even after stressing hygiene basics, there is still room for improvement in reducing the MRSA rate.

Clearly, hospitals know they must do better. The bottom line is that hospital patients should only have to worry about getting better, not about what nasty infections they could add on to their other illnesses. Hospitals must be held to significantly reducing MRSA, and clearly must reinforce hygiene basics regularly.