MRSA goes by many names. Besides being formally known as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, it is also sometimes known as a “superbug”—and if that weren’t enough, some say that it can be found not only in locker rooms or hospitals, but, unlike it was previously thought, in the kitchen as well.

A July article in Prevention Magazine claimed that MRSA can now be found in food, specifically in your burger, chop, or tenderloin. According to the article, workers in meat processing plants began showing symptoms of MRSA infection. Research has found MRSA-tainted meat in not only the United States, but in Europe and Canada as well.

So should you be worried?

“I think the news media hypes [MRSA] up more than it should,” said John Middleton, Associate Professor, Food Animal Medicine and Surgery at University of Missouri. “That said, I think people should be aware of it.”

Unlike other strains of staph bacteria, MRSA, as its name suggests, is resistant to methicillin, or synthetic penicillin, among numerous other standard antibiotics. This makes it harder to treat MRSA infections without resorting to antibiotics, which are much more potent. Though it was once more of a hospital-acquired disease, MRSA has in recent years become more of a community-acquired disease. Its symptoms can include the formation of pustules and reddish bumps on the skin that resemble spider bites.

A study which Middleton helped to conduct found MRSA in households in both human and animal hosts. Approximately a quarter of all sampled humans had staph; 20 percent within this number were found to have MRSA. Of the sampled pets, 13 percent had staph, however 23 percent within this number were found to harbor MRSA.

Unlike Prevention, however, Middleton isn’t sounding the alarm.

“We found the same identical strain [of MRSA] in a household pet and a person in four out of about 600 households,” Middleton said. “Not infected, just colonized.”

MRSA, Middleton said, is actually much more common in people than one might think. He estimates that perhaps one out of every four people in America is colonized with S. aureus (general staph), and about one in four of those people harbor MRSA.

“You could have MRSA right now, and not know it,” Middleton said. “You could become colonized and never show any symptoms.”

Another uncertain factor in the study was the issue of cross-contamination.

“We can detect MRSA in a dog or pig or horse or human,” Middleton said. “but we don’t know who infected who. We think that MRSA mostly originates in people, but we can’t be sure. There’s only so much we can tell.”

An exception to this rule is the discovery of a strain of MRSA, known as the ST398 strain, which originated in pigs and spread to humans.

Whatever the case or origin, Middleton agreed that MRSA has been found in food, in both meat and dairy products.

“The fact that we isolated [MRSA] in the food doesn’t say where it came from,” Middleton said. “But it is probably mostly post-harvest contamination.”

That is to say, most MRSA found in food isn’t really from the food itself. It’s from an infected worker carelessly touching his nose—MRSA flourishes in the nasal passages—during work, or not washing his hands.

“It does boil down to hygiene in processing and handling,” Middleton said. “And if there was a pig colonized with MRSA whose pork became contaminated during slaughter, cooking would likely kill the bacteria. It’s like drinking unpasteurized milk. It might be colonized with MRSA. The MRSA dies during pasteurization.”

Whether the MRSA entered your meat through a colonized pig or a sneezing meat handler, Middleton recommends one simple tip: wash your hands, especially after preparing or handling raw food.

“It’s not like walking into Jack in the Box and eating a hamburger and getting e-coli,” Middleton said.

In addition, take note: the bacteria can enter the body through open skin. Avoid touching raw meat with a cut hand.

However, there are bigger things to worry about; the “superbug” label given to MRSA is mostly a media-given nickname, according to Middleton. Though it can be fatal, most people are only colonized, not infected.

“Worse than influenza?” he said. “Probably not. Compared to swine flu, it’s likely less insignificant.”

So the MRSA in your meat may not be as bad as they say—if you know the facts. So do yourself a favor and wash your hands. It won’t just save you from a potential MRSA infection, but scores of other infectious diseases—like swine flu—as well.