Staphylococcus aureus

Staphylococcus aureus () is a bacterial species named from Greek σταφυλόκοκκος meaning the golden grape-cluster berry . Also known as golden staph and Oro staphira, it is a facultative anaerobic Gram-positive coccal bacterium . It is frequently found as part of the normal skin flora on the skin and nasal passages. S. aureus is the most common species of staphylococcus to cause Staph infections . The reason S. aureus is a successful pathogen is a combination of bacterial immuno-evasive strategies. One of these strategies is the production of carotenoid pigment staphyloxanthin , which is responsible for the characteristic golden colour of S. aureus colonies. This pigment acts as a virulence factor , primarily by being a bacterial antioxidant which helps the microbe evade the reactive oxygen species which the host immune system uses to kill pathogens. S. aureus can cause a range of illnesses, from minor skin infections , such as pimples , impetigo , boils (furuncles), cellulitis folliculitis, carbuncles , scalded skin syndrome , and abscesses , to life-threatening diseases such as pneumonia , meningitis , osteomyelitis , endocarditis , toxic shock syndrome (TSS), bacteremia , and sepsis . Its incidence ranges from skin, soft tissue, respiratory, bone, joint, endovascular to wound infections . It is still one of the five most common causes of nosocomial infections and is often the cause of postsurgical wound infections. Each year, some 500,000 patients in American hospitals contract a staphylococcal infection. Methicillin-resistant S. aureus , abbreviated MRSA and often pronounced or , is one of a number of greatly-feared strains of S. aureus which have become resistant to most antibiotics. MRSA strains are most often found associated with institutions such as hospitals, but are becoming increasingly prevalent in community-acquired infections. A recent study by the Translational Genomics Research Institute showed that nearly half (47%) of the meat and poultry in U.S. grocery stores were contaminated with S. aureus , with more than half (52%) of those bacteria resistant to antibiotics. S. aureus was first identified in Aberdeen , Scotland (1880) by the surgeon Sir Alexander Ogston in pus from surgical abscesses. Abbreviated to S. aureus or Staph aureus in medical literature, Staphylococcus as a generic name in binomial nomenclature is capitalized when used alone or with a specific species. However, it is not capitalized or italicized when used in adjectival forms (as in a staphylococcal infection), or as the plural (staphylococci). Staphylococcus should not be confused with the similarly-named and medically relevant genus Streptococcus .

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