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Medical ProgressFree PreviewArchive

Staphylococcus aureus — The Persistent Pathogen

List of authors.
  • John N. Sheagren, M.D.

STAPHYLOCOCCUS aureus has persisted and is now resurging as an important hospital and community pathogen.1 In recent data gathered by the Centers for Disease Control, Staph. aureus finished second behind Escherichia coli as a cause of all types of hospital-acquired infections and essentially equaled that organism in causing hospital-acquired bacteremias.2 Although the exact incidence of community-acquired Staph. aureus sepsis is not known, it continues to be the most common cause of serious progressive skin, soft-tissue, and post-traumatic infections in that setting. Staph. aureus is marvelously equipped as a pathogen, containing biochemical machinery that enables it to colonize quickly and invade . . .

Funding and Disclosures

Supported by the Veterans Administration.

Author Affiliations

From the Medical Service, Veterans Administration Medical Center, and the Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor. Address reprint requests to Dr. Sheagren at The Office of the Dean, University of Michigan Medical School, Rm. 7329, Medical Science Bldg. I, Ann Arbor, MI 48109.

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