How Staphylococci Cause Disease

The Staphylococcus aureus bacteria belongs to the Staphylococcaceae family. It is small, round shaped, and non-motile. Staphylococcus aureus stains gram positive and can often be found in small clusters (Mandal, 2010). It often forms chains and is a large contributor of soft tissue infections. It is of a yellow color, hence the name ?aureus? which comes from the Latin term ?aurum? for gold (Orenstein, n.d.). Staphylococcus aureus is found in a few spots on the human body, such as the nasal passage, the skin, the oral cavity, and even the gastrointestinal tract. Staphylococci and Streptococci are two different strands of the bacteria and are very hard to distinguish from one another. In order to tell the difference between them, without a microscope, a catalase test needs to be performed. The test is undergone by adding 3% hydrogen peroxide to both samples. Since Staphylococci are catalase positive, meaning they produce catalase, they will produce O? while the Streptococci will not because Streptococci are catalase negative (Todar, n.d.).

Staphylococcus aureus is a microorganism that appears on several diverse surfaces. This bacterium lives harmlessly on the skin as part of the normal flora. Hard surfaces are also covered in S. aureus. The microorganism is gram positive.

MSA agar is selective and differential medium which was used to see if the bacteria fermented mannitol or not. Selective because it selects for gram positive bacteria specifically Staph. species and it has 7.59% NaCl which means the bacteria must tolerate high concentrations of salt to grow and differential because it has a mannitol phenol red pH indicator. After running most of the test, I was able to conclude that my gram positive unknown is either Staphylococcus aureus or Staphylococcus epidermis. To differentiate between the two MSA agar was used because Staphylococcus aureus ferments mannitol and should have growth because it is a gram positive bacteria but Staphylococcus epidermis does not ferment mannitol but can have growth on the agar. So, using aseptic technique, I split the plate in half and inoculated my 2 unknowns onto MSA plate, then incubated at 37 for 24 hours. I knew my unknown A would not grow because it is a gram negative bacteria but it was inoculated as a control to make sure the test is running properly. When I came the next day, the gram-positive bacteria of my plate had growth and the color changed from red to yellow indicating that the bacteria fermented mannitol, which produced acid lowering the pH of the medium. Gram-positive bacteria had yellow color growth and it was surrounded by a yellow halo and gram-negative bacteria did not have any growth and the agar was still red in

Infections caused by antibiotic-resistant strains often occur in epidemic waves initiated by one or a few successful clones. Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) is prominently featured during these epidemics. Historically associated with hospitals and other healthcare settings, MRSA now has emerged as a widespread cause of community infections. The majority of Staphylococcus aureus strains are now resistant to penicillin and methicillin (MRSA). Golden staph is creating headlines across the world, the superbug is becoming unstoppable. According to government statistics “one in five cases were resistant to antibiotics” (Alexander, 2017). Scientist are trying to eradicate golden staph with antibiotics, however they are adapting rapidly. Scientists are yet to identify how exactly the bacteria keeps adapting. Antibiotics attack infections by meddling with the bacterial ribosome, which is the part of the cell that makes proteins. If a cell cannot make protein, it dies. “The way the antibiotic works is it throws a spanner in the works. The drug comes in and jams up the machine so the cell can't make protein anymore. “Antibiotic-resistant bacteria find a way to apply oil and restart the machined Belousoff's team compared the cell structure of resistant and non-resistant strains of golden staph under an electron microscope to learn that the latter infections had developed a mutation several

Staphylococcus aureus is a cluster bacterium that can be found on the skin of around 25% of healthy adults. This bacterium is growing everyday all over the world and many people have no idea they are even carriers. “Staphylococcus aureus is present in the nose of adults (temporarily in 60% and permanently in 20 to 30%) and sometimes on the skin” (Levison). This bacterium has the ability to cause skin infection and sometimes may lead to severe life threatening diseases. There are several different strains of staphylococcus and depending on the severity of the infection is how a health care provider decides the treatment most efficient. Impetigo is more common in children, but adults still have the chance of getting this skin condition. Toxic Shock Syndrome is also associated with S. aureus and is found in at least 50% of the cases to date. S. aureus can display a variety of symptoms and all vary with the disease at hand. Symptoms can range from a boil on the skin or in the nose to skin rashes. More severe symptoms can be carbuncles and infection of the blood (sepsis).Staphylococcus aureus is an ugly bacterium; that can lead to several diseases, such as Toxic Shock Syndrome and Impetigo. S. aureus has multiple symptoms and is treated with a variety of antibiotics.

Staphylococcus aureus is a specific type of bacteria which is a member of the Staphylococcaceae family (Medical News, 2016). The bacteria is found in clusters (staphylo-) which look like grapes and as a result is called Staphylococcus. Staph is Gram positive (which is a method for identifying bacteria) and is non-moving (Medical News, 2016). It can infect all mammalian species and because it can infect such a broad range of mammals it is easily transmitted from one species to another species. Of special concern is methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) which does not respond to antibiotics.

MRSA which is short for Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus is a staph or skin contamination that is resistant to a part of the most grounded anti-toxins. At the point when Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Auereus was initially found a few years prior when it spread in many healing centers and after that into the group, this contamination was known as one of the primary diseases to be resistant to the most effective anti-microbials. Staph contaminations have been referred to following the mid twentieth century as one of the deadliest infections. Staphylococcal contaminations are maladies brought about by various staphylococcal microscopic organisms. Twenty to thirty percent of all sound people get this contamination in the

Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) is a strain of staph bacteria which has developed resistance to the antibiotics designed to treat common staph infections (Winterstein, 2009, p.189). Originally viewed as a hospital pathogen, MRSA has now begun to appear in the community. Hence, the infection is now distinguished by its origin, defined as hospital-associated MRSA (HA-MRSA), or community-associated MRSA (CA-MRSA). The close proximity of athletes, who often share soap, towels, and other items commonly used in the dressing room, as well as the vigorous physical contact involved in sporting activity (both practice and competition), have led to MRSA becoming a concern in athletics. MRSA is a concern because it can lead to severe infection and even morbidity (Indeed, athletes have become a target population for MRSA. A recent study of 377 varsity college athletes at Vanderbilt University confirms that those involved in contact sports were more than twice as likely to carry MRSA (Jiminez-Truque, 2014). It is believed that the higher prevalence of MRSA in contact sports is a result of the increased skin-to-skin contact which can lead to abrasions and cuts, which permit the superbug to enter the body and colonize it (Jiminez-Truque, 2014). Treatment of MRSA involves draining of abscesses, combined with administration of powerful antibiotics, usually intravenously (Winterstein, 2009, p.187). Since MRSA is resistant to the antibiotics developed to treat it

Staph infection comes in different types and may cause disease due to direct infection or production of toxins by the bacteria. Boils, impetigo, food poisoning, cellulitis, and toxic shock syndrome are all examples of diseases that can be caused by Staphylococcus [2]. MRSA is a form of bacterial infection that is resistant to numerous antibiotics including methicillin, amoxicillin, penicillin and oxacillin, thus making it challenging to treat the infection [3].

Problem: An unknown bacteria in test tube #13 needs to be identified out of the list of bacteria provided as possible. Hypothesis: If different tests were carried out to identify the bacteria’s characteristics, then the bacteria could be identified, because a dichotomous key can be used to eliminate all other bacteria in the list Procedure: 1. Obtain an inoculating loop, Bunsen burner, test tube #13 and a test tube rack. 2.

Staphylococcus aureus is a type of bacteria. It stains Gram positive and is non-moving small round shaped or non-motile cocci. It is found in grape-like (staphylo-) clusters. is one of the five most common causes of infections after injury or surgery. It affects around 500,000 patients in American hospitals annually. It is abbreviated to “S. aureus” or “Staph aureus” in medical literature. S. aureus was discovered in Aberdeen, Scotland in 1880 by the surgeon Sir Alexander Ogston in pus from surgical abscesses. (Mandal, 2012).

Staphylococcus aureus is a gram-positive coccal bacterium that is a member of the Firmicutes, and is frequently found in the nose, respiratory tract, and on the skin. It is often positive for catalase and nitrate reduction. Although S. aureus is not always pathogenic, it is a common cause of skin infections such as abscesses, respiratory infections such as sinusitis, and food poisoning. Pathogenic strains often promote infections by producing potent protein toxins, and expressing cell-surface proteins that bind and inactivate antibodies. The emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains of S. aureus such as Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) is a worldwide problem in clinical medicine.

Cell wall teichoic acid and cell membrane associated lipoteichoic acid are two types of teichoic acids; are inserted in the bacterial lipid membrane or covalently bound to the peptidoglycan. These acids provide a negative charge to the cell surface of staphylococcus and play an important role in the activities of autolytic enzymes the localization of metal ions especially divalent cations and acquisition (Wilkinson, 1997). These two components only accounts for about 90% of cell wall mass, remaining is composed of exoproteins, autolysins and surface proteins. These components are virulence determinants and are involved in bacterial attachment to surfaces (Karakawa and Vann, 1982; Thakker et al., 1998). Staphylococcus aureus has three virulence determinant production regulators that regulate the expression of different proteins necessary for growth are agr, sar and sae (Recsei et al., 1986; Morfeldt et al., 1988; Cheung et al., 1992; Giraudo et al.,

As antibiotic resistance has become a major concern in public health, multi-drug resistant “Staphylococci.aureus” appears to be the most prevalent pathogen that is responsible for nosocomial infection across the globe and recently labelled as a “Super bug”. Staphylococci are Gram-positive, facultative aerobic microorganisms and present mostly transiently on the skin or anterior nares in approximately 20 to 30 % of healthy adult individuals. Among 30 different types of staphylococci which causes infection in human, Staph.aureus is regarded as one the major pathogen in both medicine and food safety. There is a wide variety of infection caused by Staph.aureus and most of them are skin infections and other includes pneumonia, endocarditis, osteomyelitis,

Life History and Characteristics: Staphylococcus aureus is a gram positive bacterium that is usually found in the nasal passages and on the skin of 15 to 40% of healthy humans, but can also survive in a wide variety of locations in the body. This bacterium is spread from person to person or to fomite by direct contact. Colonies of S. aureus appear in pairs, chains, or clusters. S. aureus is not an organism that is contained to one region of the world and is a universal health concern, specifically in the food handling industries.