How are MRSA infections typically transmitted in hospitals?
For one thing, people aren’t usually hospitalized unless they are very sick, so they’re often at higher risk for infections in the first place because their immune systems are weakened. And one out of every three people carry staph bacteria on their skin (though that doesn’t mean they’re infected), so over 30 percent of patients and visitors bring staph into the hospital on any given day. Any break in the skin can become an infection site, whether it’s a visible abrasion or a micro-abrasion caused by something like shaving or putting in a catheter. All that needs to happen is for bacteria to get into the skin opening. Staph and MRSA are usually transmitted in hospitals by nurses, doctors, and others picking it up on their hands while working with someone, then having a lapse in hand hygiene and passing the bacteria to another patient. Athletes often worry about the risk of infection after surgery. How does MRSA typically get into a surgical wound? For joint surgeries, which are common
