Q: What is MRSA?

A: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, usually called MRSA, are strains of staph bacteria that have become resistant to certain antibiotics.

Q: What is "community-associated" MRSA?

A: These are infections in people who haven't been recently hospitalized or undergone a medical procedure. Unlike health-care-associated MRSA, the majority of community MRSA infections are not serious. They usually involve treatable skin infections. In rare cases, these infections can become deadly.

Q: How is it spread?

A: Skin-to-skin contact is the main way MRSA is spread. In the community, sharing towels, razors, clothing and other intimate items also is a culprit. Outbreaks of community-associated MRSA have occurred in military training camps, prisons and in other places with crowded living conditions. In MRSA outbreaks investigated by the CDC, environmental surfaces have not played a significant role in the transmission.

Q: How is it treated?

A: In most cases, treatment for community MRSA involves a doctor draining the boil or prescribing antibiotics. For people who have recurring boils, doctors may try to "decolonize" them with medicated body washes and ointments swabbed inside the nose.

Q: How are infections prevented?

A: With good hygiene. Wash hands regularly. Keep cuts and scrapes covered until healed — and avoid contact with other people's wounds and bandages. Don't share personal items that contact the skin, such as towels, razors or uniforms.

Sources: CDC, AJC research