Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)
MRSA is a strain of bacteria that’s resistant to the antibiotics used to treat typical staph infections. The bacteria can spread by touching, as often occurs in hospitals.
Once the bacteria enters the body, they can spread to bones, joints or major organs such as the lungs, heart or brain.
The rate of MRSA infections in hospital patients has increased in recent years, according to a recent study published in the August 2013 issue of the journal Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology. Results showed that in 2003, an average of 21 out of every 1,000 hospital patients developed an infection. The number jumped up to 42 out of 1,000 patients in 2008.
MRSA was all over the news in Tampa Bay in August 2013 when pro Bowl guard Carl Nicks and place-kicker Lawrence Tynes were sidelined indefinitely by MRSA, and the whole Bucs facility had to be sanitized. The MRSA is spread through contact with an infected person. Football is a contact sport, and NFL had had previous encounters with MRSA infections.
