Staphylococcus aureus facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Staphylococcus aureus |
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| Staphylococcus aureus Rosenbach 1985
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Staphylococcus aureus is the most common cause of staph infections. It is a round bacterium, often living on the skin or in the nose of a person. About one third of the U.S. population are carriers of Staph. Aureus Staphylococcus aureus can cause a range of illnesses from minor skin infections to life-threatening diseases.
S. aureus can be treated with antibiotics, but they easily get resistance to antibiotics. When they are resistant, they are called MRSA (methicillin-resistant S. aureus).
Images for kids
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Staphylococcus aureus on basic cultivation media
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Hemolysis on blood agar, DNase activity, clumping factor, latex agglutination, growth on mannitol-salt and Baird-Parker agar, hyaluronidase production.
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Gram stain of S. saprophyticus cells, which typically occur in clusters: The cell wall readily absorbs the crystal violet stain.
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Key characteristics of Staphylococcus aureus
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This 2005 scanning electron micrograph (SEM) depicts numerous clumps of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) bacteria.
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S. aureus on trypticase soy agar: The strain is producing a yellow pigment staphyloxanthin.
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Typical Gram-positive cocci, in clusters, from a sputum sample, Gram stain
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Bacterial cells of S. aureus, which is one of the causal agents of mastitis in dairy cows: Its large capsule protects the organism from attack by the cow's immunological defenses.
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Susceptibility to commonly used antibiotics.
See also
In Spanish: Estafilococo áureo para niños
