Peter Davies University of Minnesota

Publish Date: April 9, 2012

Staphylococcus aureus (SA) is a bacteria that is a normal ‘resident’ of the nose and skin of people and other mammals. It is also an important ‘opportunistic’ pathogen of people that usually causes localized skin infections but can sometimes cause severe and fatal infections, most often in people suffering other health challenges. Particular clones (or strains) of antibiotic resistant SA, particularly those resistant to a drug called methicillin (thus ‘MRSA’), and related compounds (including penicillins and cephalosporins) are among the most important causes of hospital-acquired infections worldwide.