For years, health care professionals believed that a stay in the hospital was the only way for someone to be infected with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

Commonly known as MRSA, the potentially serious staph infection, which starts out as a minor skin infection but can grow to cover larger areas of the skin, was thought to attack only people in health care facilities with weakened immune systems.

In recent years, MRSA has emerged in an unlikely setting by infecting professional and student athletes. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, higher incidents of MRSA have been found in contact sports where there is plenty of hitting and grabbing, such as football, wrestling and rugby. College and high school athletes who compete in sports with less physical contact, such as soccer, fencing and baseball, have also been infected.

While much of the physical contact that can lead to MRSA takes place on the field, athletes have been infected simply by exchanging brief contact in other places, such as the locker room, or by sharing towels and ointments.

In 2008 the CDC issued a warning to anyone participating in organized or professional sports to follow certain guidelines. They include washing hands frequently; showering immediately after a game or practice; discouraging the sharing of soap, shampoos, ointments, towels or other personal items; and covering all skin abrasions and cuts.

The National Trainers Association issued similar guidelines in June 2010 after a more recent study by the CDC found that the incidence of MRSA among high school athletes in Nebraska rose five times in just one school year.

If infected, MRSA is treatable and requires visits to your doctor to drain the pus that develops. MRSA infections are resistant to common antibiotics such as penicillin, and ignoring an outbreak can lead to a hospital stay and even quarantine.

If you or someone you care about has developed serious complications from an outbreak of MRSA, it could be from negligence. When facilities fail to adhere to the CDC’s guidance, they put innocent athletes at risk. Promptly contact a personal injury attorney if you are an athlete suffering from a preventable occurrence of MRSA.

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