It's a deadly infection that's killing someone every half hour in our country.

Antibiotic resistant staph infections are becoming more common outside hospitals and researchers are looking for new ways to fight them.

MRSA caused more than 94,000 life-threatening infections and was related to 19,000 deaths in 2005.

"Resistant staph is in our community, people are acquiring from other people in the community without having any association with the hospital," said Lara Danziger-Isakov, M.D., an infectious disease expert.

Another study revealed that drug resistant ear infections are also becoming a bigger problem. Health officials link it to antibiotic overuse.

Doctors say the best bet is good hygiene, such as frequent hand washing and bathing to prevent the spread of bacteria.