As if stereotypes of feminine fashion sense and inherent Barbra Streisand knowledge weren’t enough, the gay community has been hit with another generalization, this time regarding staph infections.

Last Monday, University of California San Francisco researchers announced that gay men are 13 times more likely than others to contract MRSA USA300, a drug-resistant and contagious strain of staphylococcus bacteria.

Perhaps more quickly than the infection itself can spread, reports of the study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, could be found in news outlets throughout the world. Some even dubbed staph “the new AIDS.”

By Friday, UCSF had issued an apology for including misleading information in the press release about the study.

Henry Chambers, co-author of the report and a medical professor at UCSF, told The New York Times that he and his colleagues were focused on the scientific data, not political implications, and that the study’s findings were misinterpreted.

This strain of MRSA, first seen in 2002, infects an estimated one in 588 residents of San Francisco’s Castro district, where the AIDS epidemic hit hard two decades ago. This strain can be found in 38 states and is not specific to a certain sexual orientation, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The infection is transmitted by skin contact. Though this obviously includes sex, it can also be picked up by sharing items and exchanging different bodily fluids. As with many bacterial infections, proper hygiene is the best way to avoid staph.

The study did not assess risky sexual behavior and showed that risk of the MRSA USA300 infection is independent of HIV. It only speculated that the strain was sexually transmitted in this particular community.

Chambers said that the research shows MRSA is on the rise and spreading throughout the country, in heterosexual as well as homosexual populations.

Minor staph infections can cause boils or skin irritation and can often be treated with antibiotics. Major cases may require lengthy hospital stays and can cause blood poisoning and infection of the heart valve, lungs and bones.

In 2005, 19,000 people died of MRSA in the United States.

A study by the National Institutes of Health, published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, said that new MRSA USA300 strains will evolve during the next few years and “will have a wide range of disease-causing potential,” said Frank R. DeLeo, a lead researcher for the study, to Science Daily.

[Reach columnist Meghan Peters at news@thedaily.washington.edu.]