Staphylococcus aureus: superbug
Staphylococcus aureus gets bad press. But most of us carry it at some point and in this article in Microbiology Today (February 2008), Simon Foster says this is not as bad as we think:
It is all too easy to fear and loathe S. aureus and with such antipathy, to gloss over the special relationship which has evolved between us and one of our most faithful microbes. We all have a high titre of circulating antibodies against S. aureus and so we must be challenged subclinically on a regular basis. Getting a serious S. aureus infection is actually remarkably difficult and mostly requires immense effort on our part via injury, surgery, indwelling medical devices, etc. S. aureus is an opportunist pathogen for which many of the diseases it causes are distinctly inopportune for the bacterium. Endocarditis and other deep-seated infections give little chance for reintroduction into the environment. Superficial and minor skin lesions are the primary infections caused by S. aureus and the flow of golden pus gives relief to the host and the prospect of dispersal to the pathogen…
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Tags: Antibiotics, Bacteria, Biology, Health, Medicine, Microbiology, Science
