Leonard A. Mermel, DO, ScM, AM (Hon), FACP, FIDSA, FSHEA
Medical Director, Dept. of Epidemiology & Infection Control, Rhode Island Hospital
Professor of Medicine, The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University

MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) is a type of bacteria that causes infections in both hospital and community settings. In the community, the infection often involves the skin. This may present as a pustule or boil and may be misdiagnosed as a spider bite. One can reduce their risk of acquiring MRSA by the following these guidelines excerpted from the Mass DOH website:

• Keep your hands clean by washing them frequently with soap and warm water or hand sanitizer, and especially after direct contact with another person’s skin.
• Keep cuts and scrapes clean and covered with a bandage until they have healed.
• Avoid contact with other people’s wounds or bandages.
• Avoid sharing personal items such as towels, washcloths, toothbrushes, and razors. Sharing these items may transfer of MRSA from one person to another.
• Keep your skin healthy, and avoid getting dry, cracked skin, especially during the winter. Healthy skin helps to keep MRSA on the surface of your skin from causing an infection underneath your skin.
• See a doctor if you have any questions or an infection that does not improve

Click on the following link to view the brochure given to patients who have contracted MRSA, provided by Rhode Island Hospital.