While the antibiotic-resistant skin infection or "super bug" known as methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus ("MRSA") poses cause for concern,  health officials say there is no need for parents and athletes to panic.

CA-MRSA: less dangerous, non-invasive

For one thing, the vast majority of cases of MRSA acquired outside of a hospital setting - dubbed "community-acquired" or CA-MRSA - are the less dangerous non-invasive form (usually appearing as skin infections [1]).

Although the infection can, in some cases, be virulent enough to lead to bloodstream infections, or bone infections requiring intravenous drug treatment in a hospital, community-acquired MRSA:

• Is usually mild;

• Is more easily and effectively treated (by draining the pus, with or without antibiotics);

• Usually responds well to certain antibiotics (clindamycin [2], trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole  (TMP-SMX, Septra, Bactrim) [3], and tetracycline [4]) , albeit ones that can cost as much as $80 per day; and

• Preventable.

For another the risk of infection can be lowered dramatically by practicing good personal hygiene [5](hand washing etc.).

Finally, it is important to remember, say health officials, that, while MRSA is getting a lot of attention, ordinary flu poses more of a health threat, killing an estimated 36,000 people a year in the USA.

Source: Centers for Disease Control; Weber, Kathleen. "Community-Associated Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Infections in the Athlete." Sports Health: A Multidisciplinary Approach 1 (2009): 405-410.

Updated November 6, 2009