Boston: Many boils and pimples severe enough to send people to hospital emergency rooms are caused by a deadly bacteria sometimes.
The pimples in that case cannot be treated with conventional drugs, a study said.
Doctors at the University of California in Los Angeles found that 59 per cent of skin and soft tissue infections seen in 11 emergency rooms across the United States were from the deadly super bug known as Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA).
MRSA is a bacteria that is resistant to certain antibiotics.
It occurs most frequently in patients with weakened immune systems in hospitals and nursing homes and can be spread by poor hygiene.
The new study, published in this week's New England Journal of Medicine, shows just how common the MRSA strain has become in the general community.
"It appears now that everyone is at risk," research team leader, Gregory Moran said in a written statement.
"So if you think you have a spider bite or other type of skin lesion that is not healing, you want to see your doctor to make sure it's not an infection like MRSA,” he added.
The researchers said that the findings show that when infections become serious enough, doctors need to test to make sure they are not of the MRSA strain.
Spread of the infection can be prevented by regular hand washing with soap and water.
People should also not share personal items including, towels and razors with anyone.
MRSA has emerged as growing problem in many countries, causing difficult-to-treat infections.
In England and Wales, for example, the number of deaths linked to MRSA jumped 22 per cent between 2003 and 2004.
Most pimples are caused by acne that affects nearly 17 million people in the United States and is usually created when the skin's pores are clogged with oil and dead skin cells.
Draining them and keeping the skin clean can usually treat them.
However, more severe infections may require antibiotics or hospitalisation.
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