S. Aureus Research Paper

Staphylococcus aureus In I880, Staphylococcus aureus was first discovered by Sir Alexander Ogston. Ogston was a curious, Scottish surgeon who set out to discover the major cause of pus (the white substance that oozes from a wound or pimple). It was the high post-operative mortality rates that struck a nerve for Ogston and fueled his curiosity. At the time, the antiseptic techniques of Joseph Lister were implemented to provide a safer operating environment (Kellie). Believing that microbes in the air were the cause of putrefaction (the breaking down of the human body post death), Lister used phenol dressings to exclude air from the surgical wounds thus preventing suppuration, a form of putrefaction, from occurring. However, Ogston needed a

aureus is said to belong to the family Staphylococcaceae. It is a type of Gram-positive bacteria. This bacterium is described as non-motile cocci (Mandal, 2012). S. aureus is a bacterium that is usually carried on the skin and inside of the nose. According to the official website of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHSS), about 25-30 percent of humans carry “staph” on their skin without it developing into a more harmful infection ("Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)", 2008). The term “colonization” refers to the presence of staph without any signs or symptoms to follow. Humans and other mammals are both hosts of this bacterium. According to Robert C. Moellering, S. aureus has many characteristics that help to account for its remarkable success as a human pathogen. Among these are its virulence and quorum sensing mechanisms, which enable it to cause a broad variety of serious infections in man (Moellering, 2011). People who have diabetes mellitus, AIDS, or individuals who inject drugs are more likely to be carriers of S. aureus. Because of its ability to affect most species, the transmission from one species to another is more than likely. Staph is spread through direct skin-to-skin contact, for example, shaking hands can lead to the transmission of staph. It is also said that staph can be spread through the sharing of towels and soaps. Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most common causes of post-operation infections to date. Typically,