Are certain people at increased risk for CA-MRSA infections?
Clusters of CA-MRSA skin infections have been documented among athletes participating in contact sports, military recruits, Pacific Islanders, Alaskan Natives, Native Americans, men who have sex with men, IV drug users, and prisoners. Correctional inmates with HIV infections are twice as likely to develop MRSA infections compared with HIV-negative inmates. Factors that have been associated with the spread of CA-MRSA skin infections in otherwise healthy people include close skin-to-skin contact, openings in the skin such as cuts or abrasions, contaminated items and surfaces, crowded living conditions, and poor hygiene. However, as noted above, children and adults have developed CA-MRSA infections without any known risk factors. What are the clinical features of CA-MRSA? CA-MRSA most often presents as f uruncles, deep-seated folliculitis, impetigo, abscesses, or ecthyma. Patients and their physicians may assume that the lesion is a spider or bug bite. The involved site is red, swollen, p
