MRSA stands for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Staph is a widespread and usually harmless bacterium; about a third of people carry staph in their nose, a major reservoir for the bacteria. When staph does cause an infection, antibiotics should clear it up. But that becomes more difficult with MRSA strains of staph, which can’t be killed by penicillin, methicillin, or related antibiotics. MRSA strains can be deadly, killing thousands of people in the United States every year. I couldn’t help but wonder: Would I be one of them?
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