The spread of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus can be aided by its presence in households, according to a new study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.
Researchers studied 161 residents in Manhattan who contracted MRSA between 2009 and 2011. They found those residents' homes had become reservoirs for USA300, the main cause of community MRSA infections in the nation, according to a CBS News HealthDay report.
"We observed that most USA300 isolates had become endemic in households, indicating their critical role as reservoirs for transmission and diversification," the researchers wrote.
Anne-Catrin Uhlemann, MD, PhD, with Columbia University Medical Center in New York City and the study's lead researcher, told HealthDay, "We can't just treat the person with the infection. We have to attempt to remove the [MRSA] colonization from the home."
More Articles on MRSA:
Scientists Record First-Ever Vancomycin-Resistant MRSA-Caused Bloodstream Infection
FDA Approves 2 New Anti-MRSA Agents
RSA Agents Genome Sequencing Indicates MRSA Infection Severity