A new research has revealed that a much dangerous strain of the antibiotic resistant infection MRSA, which is also spreading at an alarmingly high rate, is much more harmful and threatening than it had previously been considered. Community-associated MRSA (CA-MRSA), as per the study which will appear in the December edition of Emerging Infectious Diseases, is spreading across hospitals and health care centers at a very worrying rate.

The aforementioned strain of this so called "superbug" can be contracted in hugely public places like schools and fitness centers. Not only is the new strain posing threats to the health of the general population, but is also adding to the already huge burden of MRSA in hospitals.

Two common strains of MRSA, CA-MRSA and hospital-associated MRSA (HA-MRSA), are resistant to all antibiotics currently available and most commonly used. Often striking older adults, patients who have undergone invasive medical procedures and those with a weak immune system more as compared to others, these strains can be caught anywhere.

For the sake of research, data from over 300 microbiology laboratories from all over the US was analyzed, and the researchers then concluded that in the years between 1999-2006, there had been a seven-fold increase in the proportion of CA-MRSA in outpatients.

"This emerging epidemic of community-associated MRSA strains appears to add to the already high MRSA burden in hospitals", said Ramanan Laxminarayan, PhD, MPH, a senior fellow at Extending the Cure, which is a project at the Resources for the Future think tank in Washington.