You can catch MRSA in fitness centres and schools, too

25 November 2009

You don’t catch the lethal superbug MRSA only in hospitals. Most of the new cases are being picked up in other public places, such as fitness centres and schools.

Cases from other communal centres have risen seven-fold, new research suggests, although hospitals still account for more than two-thirds of all cases.

The MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) superbug kills around 20,000 people in the US alone, and is especially lethal among hospital patients because it attacks wounds. It also triggers blood infections that can be lethal.

People who catch the virus in a school or fitness centre are more likely to live, say researchers from Extending the Cure, a review group that is looking at ways of countering antibiotic resistance.

(Source: Emerging Infectious Diseases, 2009; 15: http://www.cdc.gov/eid/content/15/12/1925_cme_activity.htm)

You can catch MRSA in fitness centres and schools, too

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