How does someone get MRSA?
There are two major classifications of MRSA, depending on the route of infection: The more common one is hospital-acquired MRSA, in which patients are infected during medical treatment, and the other is community-acquired MRSA, in which patients are infected during their normal daily routines. MRSA can live just about anywhere, from medical equipment to grass in the park. The bacteria enter the body wherever they can find an opening, from minor cuts to inhalation through the mouth or nose. Testing positive for MRSA does not automatically mean that you are sick. Around 1 percent of the population is a MRSA carrier, meaning the carrier can spread the bacteria without necessarily becoming ill. How common is MRSA? MRSA is becoming a bigger problem both in hospitals and in the community. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently reviewed the prevalence of MRSA in intensive care units and found a dramatic increase over time. In 1992, 36 percent of the S. aureus bacteria in ICUs
