Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Too many syllables? Just call it MRSA. Discovered in 1880 by a Scottish surgeon, Staph infections are common in hospitals. With the increase in the use of antibiotics, a resistant strain of Staph (MRSA) emerged in the 1960s. In recent years, medical officials have been faced with a troubling increase in the occurrence of Staph in healthy individuals who have not been recently hospitalized.

Although community-associated strains of MRSA are treatable, they are more virulent than health care-associated ones. The recent death of two students on the East coast from CA-MRSA, as well as the release of a report by the Journal of the American Medical Association that deaths from drug-resistant staph have surpassed AIDS deaths in the US, have raised public awareness of staph.

The increase in public awareness of staph has resulted in a media frenzy similar to the 2001-2002 West Nile Virus scare. Is MRSA as dangerous as it sounds? Nearly all cases of CA-MRSA are mild skin and soft tissue infections, which may look like a pimple or boil and can be red, swollen and painful. They may also have pus or other drainage.

Many staph skin infections can be treated by draining the abscess or boil and may not even require antibiotics. Although MRSA is resistant to some antibiotics, it can still be treated with others, and CA-MRSA is more responsive to antibiotics than health care-associated MRSA. The media coverage over the death of two students has created a “crisis” over a problem which the medical community has been dealing with for decades. Although the dramatic increase in the number of CA-MRSA cases over the past decade is clearly troublesome, death from CA-MRSA is still very rare.

Certainly, CA-MRSA is cause for concern. Incorrectly identified or left untreated, a certain strain of CA-MRSA can develop into necrotizing fasciitis, the “flesh eating” infection. However, like HIV and influenza, increased awareness and prevention are still the best tools for fighting CA-MRSA. Good hygiene can easily prevent infection, and early detection and treatment with proper antibiotics can prevent it from becoming a life-threatening.

Staph is nothing new for Rich Schlotfeldt, the trainer for the University of Minnesota Wrestling Team.

“We dealt with this a few years ago, so we’re a little bit ahead of the curve. We’ve got a procedure in place,” Schlotfeldt says. Athletes participating in contact sports like wrestling are at higher risk for contracting staph because it can be spread from skin to skin contact. However, even with the increase in CA-MRSA infections, Schlotfeldt has not seen an increase in the number of wrestlers with staph.

“We still get a few cases…but the wrestlers are pretty good at policing themselves,” he says. “If they have a wound…they come to me and we make sure that it stays covered and we treat it and watch for signs of infection,”

However, staph is not a problem for athletes alone. Senior Dennis Hogenson contracted MRSA over the summer while working as a camp counselor.

“Having staph was definitely one of the crappier experiences of my life,” he says. “The antibiotics made me feel really sick.”

“We’ve all pretty much got the bacteria on us all the time,” Schlotfeldt says. “It becomes a problem when you’ve got an open wound and there’s a point to entry for the bacteria to get in.”

The spread of staph can be largely prevented by good hygiene. The CDC recommends washing your hands often, avoiding contact with other people’s wounds or bandages, and avoiding sharing personal items like razors and towels. Got a cut? Keep in clean and bandaged. Watch for signs of infection, and if it becomes infected see a medical professional.