The VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System yesterday began an effort to help veterans hospitals around the nation eliminate infections from MRSA, an antibiotic-resistant strain of bacteria.

At a two-day kickoff meeting in Pittsburgh, local officials planned to share their expertise in battling the infections with those from 17 other VA hospitals in Pennsylvania and other states. Eventually, they hope to expand the effort to all VA medical centers.

"This could be a historic day," Dr. John Jernigan, an epidemiologist for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said yesterday as the meeting opened at the Omni William Penn Hotel, Downtown. He noted that many health care systems have not addressed the growth of MRSA infections in their facilities.

Not all MRSA infections are linked to health care facilities, but many are, Dr. Jernigan said.

He said preliminary data suggest that about 90,000 cases of serious MRSA infection occur in the U.S. annually and that they are associated with about 17,000 deaths.

He predicted that the VA's initiative "will change the way every other health care facility thinks about MRSA."

The effort is "setting the stage" for the private health care sector to get more involved in MRSA prevention, said Dr. Rajiv Jain, VA Pittsburgh's chief of staff and the project's national director.

To control the spread of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, the 17 hospitals are expected to use techniques similar to those that have been successful at VA Pittsburgh, including nasal swabs to test patients for the bacteria. Patients with MRSA typically are isolated to prevent the spread of the pathogen, which can cause serious surgical wound infections, bloodstream infections and pneumonia.

For Darryl Taylor, 51, of Allentown, infection with MRSA has meant a painful and complicated recovery from a broken leg.

"It caused a lot of problems," Mr. Taylor, a Vietnam veteran, told meeting attendees.

He said he needed surgery after his right leg was broken in a motor vehicle accident in October. He said he contracted a MRSA infection while recovering at a VA long-term care facility in Aspinwall, which has led to several other surgeries.

Mr. Taylor said tissue removed from his left wrist was used to help correct damage to his leg from the infection. He also has had skin grafts taken from his right thigh.

Though the infection has cleared up, Mr. Taylor said he faces more surgery and has been unable to return to his job as a mail carrier. He said he has to take pain medicine "just to get through the day."

Experiences like his underscore the need to limit the spread of MRSA, said Dr. Jain, noting that infection control procedures have since been improved at the Aspinwall facility.

Others involved in the VA's infection control effort include national VA officials and those from the CDC, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Plexus Institute, Tufts University and the Delmarva Foundation.