Filed in: Articles.StaphFAQ · Modified on : Sun, 25 Nov 07
What is staph?
Staph is short for Staphylococcus aureus. It is often found on the skin of healthy people. Between 25-30% of people are colonized with staph. Colonized means staph is present but not causing the host any harm. Staph can cause a skin infection that is easily treated. It's one of the most common types of skin infections in the U.S. Even though Staph is most of the time harmless it can very serious if it infects the blood stream. This mainly occurs during or after a patient undergoes surgery.
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dhqp/ar_visavrsa_FAQ.html#1
What is MRSA?
MRSA stands for methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus. MRSA is resistant to all penicillin-like antibiotics. It's often also resistant to just about any antibiotics we currently have.
Untill recently MRSA is most prevalent in health care settings. Most cases occurred in hospitals and other care facilities such as nursing homes.
Am I at risk?
At this point in time almost everyone has a very small chance of being infected with MRSA. It spreads through direct and indirected skin contact with an infected person. It can't spread through air but can be transfered from an object to a person.
As stated above the most likely to be infected are those in a health care environment. Those involved in contact sports are more at risk for infection.
How can I protect myself