According to a study presented at the 49th annual Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agency and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) at San Francisco on Saturday, a difficult- to-treat germ MRSA - methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus - has been found in five public beaches along the coast of Washington.

This is the first time that the so-called 'superbug' MRSA has been found in sand and water - ordinarily, the antibiotic-resistant strain is found in hospitals, but it is, of late, being increasingly discovered in prisons, gym locker rooms, schools and homes.

The germ is said to cause skin infections, organ ailments, and serious, at times even fatal, bouts of pneumonia.

The findings of the study were based on the tests of the sand and water of 10 beaches in Washington, along the West Coast and in Puget Sound, between February and September 2008. The researchers found staph bacteria at nine of the beaches.

The co-author of the study, Marilyn Roberts, a microbiologist at the University of Washington in Seattle, said at the conference: "We don't know the 'risk' for any individual going to a beach. But the fact that we found these organisms suggests that the level is much higher than we had thought."

Further, Roberts urged people to take precautions like going for a shower to remove the sand off; and covering cuts and bruises on the skin.