Drug resistance is a big news topic this week. Tara Smith at Correlations describes MRSA’s move from hospitals to communities; Mike the Mad Biologist has numbers on the toll of that antibiotic-resistant bug; and Theo Francis at the WSJ Health Blog highlights a shortage of infection-control specialists to help hospitals tackle the problem. Also at the WSJ Health Blog, Jacob Goldstein reports that a Mexican businessman with multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis crossed the border into Texas 71 times and took several flights into the US (so much for being able to control diseases’ movement across borders).

Ruth Levine at Global Health Policy considers the similarities between drug resistance and global warming, and starts by noting that both “are a result of profligate overuse of a precious resource (fossil fuels, the ability to kill harmful bugs) without mindfulness about long-term consequences.”

Elsewhere:

At the Health Affairs Blog, Leonard Burman, Kim Reuben, and Genevieve Kenney explain why it makes sense to fund SCHIP with tobacco taxes.

Emily Douglas at RH Reality Check reports that Dr. Susan Orr, the new Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Population Affairs at the Office of Public Health and Science, is no fan of contraception.

Matt Madia at Reg Watch brings us the latest example of the White House’s OIRA thwarting agency efforts: NOAA’s efforts to protect whales and krill are stuck in the office’s opaque review process.

Ed Silverman at Pharmalot summarizes a new study published in JAMA on industry relationships with chairs or departments at medical schools and teaching hospitals.

Kane at OSHA Underground examines the citations OSHA issued to Cintas after the death laundry worker Eleazar Torres-Gomez in a dryer at a Cintas facility in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The Olive Ridley Crawl reminds us where waste goes, and who suffers from it.

Amanda at Enviroblog suggests ways to reduce household phthalate exposure.