Extract:
MRSA
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a form of the Staphylococcus aureus bacterium that is resistant to antibiotics and as a result is very difficult to treat. MRSA now kills more Americans every year than HIV/AIDS, and the rates of infection are rising.
Methicillin is an antibiotic that was introduced in the 1960s as a way of combating the Staphylococcus aureus bacterium that is ubiquitous in hospitals. Within a year, doctors began finding strains of bacteria that had already developed immunity to methicillin. By the 1990s, MRSA had become the leading hospital-acquired skin infection in the United States. At the same time MRSA started appearing outside of hospitals. These were different strains of the bacteria, but just as dangerous, and spreading just as quickly. In the past 15 years, MRSA bacteria have become ubiquitous not only in hospitals, but in gyms, locker rooms, swimming pools, and any other settings where human contact is common.
Researchers in Ireland are developing a technology that may significantly halt the spread of the hospital-associated MRSA bacteria. They have developed a textile consisting of nanomaterials 1,000 times smaller than a human hair; these textiles are shown to halt the spread of infection and can be used for linens, drapes, and upholstery in hospitals. The potential for this technology to reduce the instances of hospital associated MRSA is staggering.
You can reduce your risk for community-associated MRSA infection by regularly washing your hands, covering all open wounds with a clean bandage, and not sharing any personal items like razors or towels.
What is the main idea of the passage?
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A
Methicillin may prove to be the best way to keep MRSA from killing more hospital patients.
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B
A new textile is the best bet to protect hospital patients against the dangers of MRSA.
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C
There are many different strains of MRSA, but only one is potentially fatal.
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D
MRSA is a scourge both in and out of hospitals, but there may be ways to reduce the risk.
The main idea is that MRSA is a scourge both in and out of hospitals, but there may be ways to reduce the risk, capturing the problem's scope and emerging solutions.
A) Methicillin may prove to be the best way to keep MRSA from killing more hospital patients.
Directly contradicted, the passage states MRSA is resistant to methicillin, which became ineffective within a year of introduction. Methicillin represents the failed solution, not the promising one.
B) A new textile is the best bet to protect hospital patients against the dangers of MRSA.
Overemphasizes one potential solution while ignoring community-acquired MRSA and personal prevention methods. The textile is presented as promising but not definitively "best," and hospital focus neglects the community dimension central to the passage.
C) There are many different strains of MRSA, but only one is potentially fatal.
Factual error, the passage states community strains were "just as dangerous" as hospital strains, with no suggestion that only one strain causes fatalities. MRSA overall "kills more Americans every year than HIV/AIDS."
D) MRSA is a scourge both in and out of hospitals, but there may be ways to reduce the risk.
Accurately synthesizes the passage structure: problem scope (hospital and community settings with rising mortality), historical context (methicillin resistance development), emerging solution (nanomaterial textiles), and personal prevention strategies (handwashing, wound coverage, avoiding shared items).
Conclusion
Main ideas must encompass comprehensive problem-solution frameworks without overemphasizing single elements or introducing factual errors. Option D successfully integrates MRSA's dual-environment threat with both technological and behavioral risk-reduction approaches.