People who regularly drink tea or coffee may be less likely to be carriers of the “superbug” MRSA, according to a US study.

Out of more than 5,500 Americans who took part in a government study published in the Annals of Family Medicine,
those who drank hot tea or coffee were about half as likely as non-drinkers to harbour methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in their nostrils.

But exactly what it means is still unclear.

“Hot tea and coffee have been found to have antimicrobial properties,” wrote lead researcher Eric Matheson, of the University of South Carolina, Charleston.