Cigarette smoke can make MRSA more resistant to antibiotics, according to an article on the Infection Control Today website.
New research from the University of Bath has also shown smoke can make MRSA more invasive and persistent.
The researchers believe the stress cigarette smoke causes the bacteria to have an 'SOS' response, which increases the rate of mutation in microbial DNA.
Previous studies had attributed smokers' increased susceptibility to infection to the damaging effects of smoke on our immune system.
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