Thanks for posting. MRSA is interesting.
As a nurse MRSA is FRIGHTENING. If you need surgery try to make it outpatient if at all possible. The worst place to be is a hospital, and I work in one. I am appalled when I see infants allowed to crawl on the floor of hospital waiting rooms.
My own father contracted it while in the hospital and it was what ultimately led to his death. He had cancer and was hoping for a new treatment but that treatment had to be delayed due to the MRSA and the treatment he required for it (intravenous Vancomycin). He could not recieve more treatment for the cancer until the MRSA infection was "under control" but he never made it that far.
Vancomycin is an extremely powerful antibiotic that is extremely corrosive to the vascular system. He died as a result of his Jugular vein "opening up" (he bled out) which was most likely due to the long-term use of Vancomycin. (His doctor called the treatment with it a "double-edged sword" in that it could get rid of the MRSA which he needed to be able to recieve further cancer treatment but the treatment with Vancomycin could weaken his vascular system enough to kill him - mostly because of his already weakened and compromised bodily integrity).
What is even scarier about MRSA and these "super bug" Staph infections is their ability to mutate and become ever more resistant. There is now also VRSA - that is Vancomycin Resistant Staphlococcus Aureus. Nosocomial infections are one of the most serious probles facing healthcare facilities these days.