Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

While an MRSA infection in an otherwise healthy individual is not usually a serious matter, it can be life-threatening to patients with deep wounds, catheters[?] or drips[?]; or as a secondary infection[?] in patients with compromised immune systems.

Recently in the USA a new strain has emerged that can infect by skin contact alone. It has caused a mini-epidemic among prison populations and other groups:

"Most of those infected are gay men, but the superbug is certainly not restricted to this group. Athletes, schoolchildren and newborns have all fallen victim.... Health officials suspect that the large number of cases among gay men are due to skin-to-skin contact during intercourse, rather than sexual transmission per se, and the fact that many gay men have multiple sexual partners."

New Scientist, Superbug strain hits the healthy, 5 March 2003 [1] (http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993460)

From the US CDC[?]'s MRSA Fact Sheet:

"How are staph and MRSA spread? - Staph bacteria and MRSA can spread among people having close contact with infected people. MRSA is almost always spread by direct physical contact, and not through the air. Spread may also occur through indirect contact by touching objects (i.e., towels, sheets, wound dressings, clothes, workout areas, sports equipment) contaminated by the infected skin of a person with MRSA or staph bacteria."

"Are staph and MRSA infections treatable? - Yes. Most staph bacteria and MRSA are susceptible to several antibiotics. Furthermore, most staph skin infections can be treated without antibiotics by draining the sore. However, if antibiotics are prescribed, patients should complete the full course and call their doctors if the infection does not get better. Patients who are only colonized with staph bacteria or MRSA usually do not need treatment." [emphasis added]

--http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/hip/ARESIST/mrsafaq.htm