Staphylococcus Epidermidis Research Paper

Modern-day advances have allowed scientists to develop methods to control pathogens. The more common methods include the use of antiseptics, antibiotics, and vaccines. By definition, antiseptics are chemicals used to kill pathogens. A few widespread antiseptics include soap, vinegar, and rubbing alcohol. Antiseptics are primarily used for the external destruction of pathogens, while antibiotics and vaccines target internal pathogens. Nevertheless, there are and can be difficulties concerning the use of antibiotics. “As antibiotic use has become more common, antibiotic-resistant bacteria have evolved.” This resistance due to evolution is called antibiotic resistance. It results in the antibiotics having no effect whatsoever on the bacteria, rendering the antibiotics useless. When antibiotic resistance occurs, scientists must resume their search to create a new medicine to can kill the mutant bacteria.

Ampicillin, penicillin, streptomycin all sulphafurazole all were resistant to the bacteria as it may have grown a mutation.

Unknown #462. Multiple tests were performed as described in Brown’s1 manual to identify the unknown; it was determined that the unknown was Staphylococcus epidermidis. The incubation temperature of each test was 37˚C and they were incubated for 24-48 hours. The morphological test performed on the unknown #462 were all consistent with the expected results for this bacterial species such cell shape, motility, and gram stain. The bacterium was gram positive was confirmed by growth on PEA plate, inhibition of growth on EMB plate, and through gram staining. The optimal growth temperature was at 37˚C which corresponds to the optimal temperature mesophilic bacterium as stated in StrainInfo2.

Staphylococcus aureus, a microorganism, is the leading cause of today’s infection in the hospital setting in the US. The optimal growth conditions consist of moist, warm, dark environments. On humans, it is usually found in the nares, groin, and axilla. In 1941, the antibiotic penicillin was discovered and was used to treat S. aureus infections. This

Chemical antimicrobial agents are chemical compounds capable of either inhibiting the growth of microorganisms or killing them outright. Those which are taken internally to alleviate the symptoms of or promote healing from disease are called chemotherapeutic drugs, and among these is a class of compounds called antibiotics. In order for a chemotherapeutic drug to be classed as an antibiotic, it must be produced by a microorganism such as bacterium or fungus or at least derived from a chemical produced by one. It must also be capable of killing or inhibiting the growth of other microorganisms and of doing so when taken in very small quantities.

found that both the drug and the bacteria use enzymes as their defense and attack

Antibiotics have been E.coli and Staph are two distinct and separate types of bacteria. They each live, thriving in environments wherein they can do substantial damage to their hospitable host! For example, E coli often times lives inside the intestinal track of humans and animals and can disrupt their day to day routines. E coli can be harmful causing gastrointestinal issues like diarrhea and vomiting. Staph, to the contrary, can thrive in a number of places on a living thing, although they typically impede the skin of a living host. Staphs can be aggressive, and in some cases are immune to antibiotics that are typically used to treat the infection. Staphs can be deadly and are usually transferred from actual direct contamination or contact.

Before the turn of the 21st century, physicians across the country were realizing that the possibility of being able to treat and cure virtually any microbial infection with the use of a single or a combination of antimicrobial medications was becoming more and more of a challenge. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, reports of pathogenic resistance to even the most potent antimicrobial medications of the time were being sent to the Centers for Disease Control. Among even the most dangerous pathogens that have developed and are developing drug resistance to one or many antimicrobials, Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is perhaps a case in which the world is most familiar and of the greatest concern within the medical community due to its natural virulence-its ability to cause a multitude of life-threatening infections, and its above average ability to combat and adapt to a vast array of environmental conditions.

According to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIH) Staphylococcus Aureus (S. Aureus) was first discovered in the 1880s. The S. Aureus infection caused pain on site, boils, and scaled skin. The S. Aureus infection can cause bacterial pneumonia or bacteria in the blood stream which can have fatal effects. In the 1940s the use of the antibiotics such as penicillin became a routine treatment for the infection. The consistent treatment using antibiotics lead to the bacteria evolving and becoming resistant to the drugs that were fighting the bacteria. In the late 1950s scientist developed methicillin, which is a form of penicillin,

When Penicillin was first introduced in the early 1940’s to treat bacterial infection, resistance strains of Staphylococcus Aureus were completely unidentified. However, only a decade later, the disease was already becoming very common in hospital environments. Because of this, Methicillin was introduced in 1961 to medicate these resistance strains, yet within a single year, doctors were already encountering Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus

The objective of this lab was to measure the zones of inhibition of the discs that were soaked in different hand-cleansing agents/antibiotics and put in agar plates that were swabbed with Escherichia coli culture. In order to do this, we used the Kirby-Bauer method. The Kirby-Bauer method is a test of detect the antibiotic sensitivity to bacteria. The method is used by using antibacterial discs to see which bacteria are affected by those antibiotics. My hypothesis, stated before the experiment, was that penicillin will have the smallest zone of inhibition because it is an antibiotic, and it will work the best.

Staphylococcus epidermidis is a gram- positive bacterium meaning that it is a bacterium that takes up the crystal violet strain when used in the gram strain test. When this tests is being undertaken the bacterium turns a purple colour when looking through a microscope. This is due to the thick peptidoglycan layer in the cell wall, as it retains the strain after being washed in the decolorization stage. However due the thicker peptidoglycan layer staphylococcus is more receptive of antiseptics due to the absence of an outer membrane.

The team has now come up with a hypothesis on to why the treatment has not responded to the patients’ symptoms. The patients may not be responding to the current antimicrobial treatment that was prescribed because the microbes causing a skin infection developed resistance to the antimicrobial drugs. This can be due to mutations and transfer of genetic materials that the microorganisms have developed causing resistance to the antimicrobial drugs.

Nowadays seen as an important opportunistic pathogen “Staphylococcus epidermidis is one of thirty-three known species belonging to the genus Staphylococcus” (5). It can be found within the mucous membranes, as a part of the skin flora, and in animals. If S. epidermidis comes in contact with a person who has a compromised immune system, it may cause infection merely to those inside of hospital settings. It like to live on the surface, but once inside a host can cause serious problems. There are many different strands of Staphylococcus, but this particular bacterium was “first differentiated from other forms of Staphylococcus in 1884 by Friedrich Julius Rosenbach" (6). S. flexneri causes dysentery that results in the destruction of the epithelial

When treating ear infections with antibiotics, the big question is, “will this drug cover this germ?” Oftentimes, the practitioner will prescribe a broad spectrum antibiotic, which is effective against a wide range of microorganisms from throat infections, such as strep to skin infections, such as impetigo or a narrow spectrum antibiotics, which are bacteria specific. Unfortunately, these medications do not cover every microbe, therefore simple tests must be performed to identify the organism and determine the sensitivity and resistance of specific antibiotics. If a germ is sensitive to a specific antibiotic, indications are probable this is the drug of choice to isolate and destroy the specific germ. When a germ is resistant to a specific drug, the drug is not indicated for treatment.