Overuse and indiscriminate use of antibiotics and the use of more powerful drugs than necessary for less serious infections may be some of the root causes of the development of MRSA in recent decades.

On a personal level, poor hygiene and unclean conditions are the main promoters of bacterial growth - including MRSA. MRSA is most often spread to others by contaminated hands.

The cleanest person can get a staph infection. Staph can rub off the skin of an infected person and onto the skin of another person when they have prolonged skin-to-skin contact. Staph from an infected person can also get onto a commonly shared item or surface, and then get onto the skin of the person who touches it next. Examples of commonly shared items are towels, benches in saunas or hot tubs, and athletic equipment - in other words, anything that could have touched the skin of a staph infected person can carry the bacteria to the skin of another person.

MRSA bacteria can cause infection when they enter the body through a cut, sore, catheter, or breathing tube. The infection can be minor and local (for example, a pimple), or more serious (involving the heart, lung, blood, or bone).†

  1. † Sources for this article include the Medline Plus and the Minnesota Department of Health [↩]