Staph infections the important facts.(CR Health)

Just a few years ago, a painful skin infection like a boil could be quickly wiped out with an antibiotic, such as amoxicillin. But today, there's a form of staph, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), that has become resistant to antibiotics in the penicillin family.

Researchers with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that MRSA was responsible for an estimated 19,000 deaths in 2005. MRSA infections occur most frequently in hospitals and other health-care facilities, but they can also cause illness elsewhere, particularly in crowded areas like schools and gyms. Here are answers to some common questions about it.

Is MRSA spreading faster, or are we just hearing more about it in the news?

It's not clear whether the spike is due to a rising number of infections or increased awareness by healthcare professionals and the public. Either way, there is cause for concern. About 95,000 people in the U.S. had an invasive MRSA infection in 2005. Fourteen percent of those infected probably got it in community settings, since they had not recently been in a hospital or healthcare facility.

How will I know whether I've been infected?

A MRSA infection tends to occur near a cut or scrape, or on certain areas of the body, including the neck, groin, buttock, or armpit. It looks like a pimple or a boil and might be red, swollen and painful, or have pus in it. Many of the infections clear on their own. The basic ...