3 months ago
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MRSA kills 20,000 people in the U.S. each year. It's a type of staph bacteria that is resistant to treatment with most common antibiotics.
Now the CDC is reporting on a variation of the bug. Researchers found that some people who come to the hospital for outpatient procedures are bringing with them what's called "community associated MRSA," and it's infecting hospitalized patients.
People can pick up the germ just about anywhere; in the gym, at daycare centers, in nursing homes. And when they come in for an outpatient procedure they leave their germs behind. Doctors and other medical staff moving between the outpatient clinic and the hospital can spread the bacteria.
The study found a seven-fold increase in the number of community-based MRSA infections from 1999 to 2006.
Fortunately this second strain of MRSA is easier to treat than the version normally found inside hospitals.
But it can still be deadly, particularly for those with weakened immune systems.
