MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus)

Staphylococcus aureus (commonly called “staph”) is a bacterium and member of the roughly 275 genera within the Firmicutes phylum. Scottish surgeon Alexander Ogston (1844–1929) discovered the major cause of pus in 1882, which had been designated as “staphylococci” by Billroth in 1874. In 1884, German surgeon Anton Rosenbach (1842–1923) identified two strains of staphylococci (e.g., Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus albus. Staph is commonly found on human skin and in the [Page 927]respiratory tract, causing skin infections (e.g., folliculitis, abscesses, cellulitis, impetigo, and toxic epidermal necrolysis), and can cause acute to serious pulmonary infections in adults (e.g., sinusitis, pneumonia, etc.). All staphylococcal skin infections are contagious. Other staph infections are mastitis (inflammation of breast tissue after child birth), endocarditis (inflammation of the inner layer of the ...