(CBC) - A superbug that is popping up in locker rooms and day cares in the U.S. is poised to "emerge in force" in Canada, doctors warn.

Community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or CA-MRSA, was previously confined to hospitals but epidemics are occurring in the U.S. and it's making inroads in Canada, according to a commentary published Tuesday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

The bacteria cause large boil-like infections, and can cause hemorrhagic pneumonia or flesh-eating disease in rare cases.