Preview

Staphylococcus aureus

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
340 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Staphylococcus aureus
Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is a gram positive bacterium that when looked at under a microscope it appears to be a cluster of what looks like purple circles. This shape is known as cocci. When grown on a TSA plate, Staphylococcus aureus appears to be yellow to opaque in color. S. aureus is known as one of the most resistant bacterium to multiple antibiotics and considered the most pathogenic. Everyone is susceptible to S. aureus with one way of transmission being from foods such as chicken, eggs, meat, and tuna which can all cause food poisoning. Another way of transmitting the disease would be from your skin. Staphylococcus aureus resides on a person’s skin on a daily basis and when the barrier is broken from things such as cuts or wounds, this then provides an excellent entry way for the bacterium. Drug users are also extremely susceptible to this bacterium because they may choose to inject themselves with needles which can cause the likeliness of the bacterium entering your body (3). It has also been found that Staphylococcus aureus plays a huge role in Methicillin resistant Staphylococcal aureus otherwise termed MRSA. This bacterium can become resistant to many antibiotics such as methicillin, cephalosporins and erythromycin which make it much more difficult to treat. In order to try and treat MRSA vancomycin is administered to the patient. Even with this drug, researchers have found that MRSA is also becoming resistant to vancomycin as well. The prevention of this bacterium could help to minimize nosocomial infections by practicing good hygiene and appropriate cleansing of surgical incisions and burns (2).
In conclusion, it was found that the gram positive bacterium was indeed Staphylococcus aureus and the gram negative bacterium was Klebsiella pneumoniae. One problem that was difficult to overcome was maintaining sterile technique while inoculating both agar plates and test tubes. The isolation was difficult to do because two attempts were

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Lab Report On Unknown 32

    • 591 Words
    • 3 Pages

    and Streptococcus spp. After the initial tests were conducted, five more tests were done to narrow down the genera and species. From the provided list of possible unknown genera, the only genus left was Staphylococcus. However Staphylococcus has many species, so test focused on differentiating the many species of Staphylococcus were conducted.…

    • 591 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    To understand Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus, we must first understand Staphylococcus aureus. Staphylococcus aureus is a spherical, or coccus, bacteria (MRSA). The bacteria usually appears is chains, bunches, or grape like clusters, (Gregory, 229). It is a gram-positive aerobic organism that causes skin infections and sometimes pneumonia, endocarditis and osteomyelitis (Beers, 1442). This infection commonly leads to abscess formations (Beers, 1442). Staphylococcus aureus is a coagulase positive bacterium, and is among those that are dangerous human pathogen because it has the ability to both be extremely virulent and its ability to develop antibiotic resistance, (Beers, 1442).…

    • 461 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Double Unknown Lab Report

    • 1229 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The purpose of this experiment was to isolate two unknown bacteria and perform a series of selective and differential tests to correctly identify each. After the bacteria was isolated a series of differential and selective tests following the dichotomous key attached were used to identify each bacteria. The Gram-positive bacteria were identified as Staphylococcus aureus with a positive confirmatory test, mannitol salt agar, showing consistent results as well for S. aureus. The Gram-negative bacteria were Pseudomonas aeruginosa with a positive confirmatory…

    • 1229 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Etiology- MRSA is caused by Staphylococcus aureus germs on the skin that start an infection in a surgical wound or open wound. Unnecessary use of antibiotics have, over time, increased the resistance of the germs to the antibiotics used to treat them.…

    • 340 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Micro Lab Report

    • 1637 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The genus Staphylococcus includes more than 20 species as described in Bergey 's Manual (2001). Only two are significant to humans, Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis. S. aureus colonizes mainly the nasal passages, but it may be found regularly in the oral cavity, gastrointestinal tract and the skin. Staphylococcus epidermidis is an inhabitant of the skin. Of these two Staphylococcus aureus is serious pathogen. Staphylococcus epidermidis is of the normal flora and is not considered to be a serious pathogen (textbookofbacteriology.net). Staphylococcus epidemidis becomes pathogenic when the skin is broken or through contamination from medical procedure. Staphylococcus aureus are only able to invade via broken skin or mucous membranes.…

    • 1637 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Unknown Lab Report

    • 2145 Words
    • 9 Pages

    The purpose of this lab was to identify two unknown bacteria cultures using various differential tests. The identification of these unknown cultures was accomplished by separating and differentiating possible bacteria based on specific biochemical characteristics. Whether the tests performed identified specific enzymatic reactions or metabolic pathways, each was used in a way to help recognize those specifics and identify the unknown cultures. The differential tests used to identify the unknown cultures were oxidase, catalase, lactose and sucrose fermentation, Kugler/iron agar, nitrate reduction, gelatin hydrolysis, starch hydrolysis, manitol salt, MR-VP, citrate, bile esculin, indole, urease, DNase, and coagulase.…

    • 2145 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Miss

    • 380 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Introduction: Carriage of S.aureus is important in hospital patients, preoperative patients, hospital staff, food handlers etc. because it carriage of S.aureus appears to play a key role in the epidemiology and pathogenesis of infection. S.aureus can cause localized and invasive infections in humans. S.aureus is a major cause of food poisoning due to their ability to produce enterotoxins which if ingested in sufficient amounts results in sickness. Food handlers carrying enterotoxin-producing S. aureus in their noses or hands can contaminate food leading to food poisoning. Hospital personnel may be nasal carriers of S.aureus in a higher percentage of cases than in the general population. In a hospital study, S.aureus nasal carriage rates were found 28% (41/144) in normal population, and 31.5% (12/38) in hospital laboratory personnel.…

    • 380 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Unknown Bacteria Report

    • 586 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Gram staining showed gram negative rods, a motility test was also conducted to see if the bacterium moved or not, it was found to be none motile. Three different types of agar plates were used, they had two known bacterium put on along with the unknown to be able to compare negative and positive results if the known with the results of the unknown, refer to Barbaro (2016) for how the test were done.…

    • 586 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Salmonella Research Paper

    • 449 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Staphylococcus is a genus of the Gram-positive bacteria which appears as grape-like clusters structure when observed under the microscope. Staphylococcus genus can be grouped into not less than 40 species, where nine of them consist of 2 subspecies and one gas three subspecies. Staphylococcus was first found in the year if 1880 by surgeon A.Ogston during a surgical abscess in a knee joint. Until this day, average estimation of 20% of the human population are carriers of Staphylococcus aureus. Staphylococcus aureus, one of the members of the Firmicutes, is commonly found in the respiratory tract or on the skin, causing skin irritation and infection and also sinusitis and respiratory infection (Ogston A 1984).…

    • 449 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Unknown Bacteria Essay

    • 614 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The unknown bacteria A and bacteria B have to be identified by its genus and species. First both bacteria had to be inoculated into a TSA agar media using the streak plate method. Four quadrants were drawn, so that the bacteria could be isolated as much as possible. Each bacteria was inoculated into two different plates, so that one could be incubated at 37 degrees Celsius and the other at 25 degrees Celsius. Bacteria B, which was incubated at room temperature showed red colonies throughout its media. This identified it as the gram-negative bacteria Serratia marcescens, but further tests had to be conducted to fully confirm. Bacteria A showed a white opaque growth in both of its plates.…

    • 614 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    According to the National Center for disease control and prevention, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus is a type of staph infection that is resistant to the usual antibiotics that are effective in treating other types of staph ("CDC - Definition of MRSA | MRSA Infections", 2010). Sometimes antibiotic resistant infections are called super bugs. This essay attempts to discover how it happens, how it can be prevented and possible treatments available.…

    • 1144 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    This paper will explain how the infectious organism staphylococcus aureus is transmitted through food. Discuss a real life outbreak of staphylococcus aureus in the United States. Also describe the clinical symptoms, the duration of the symptoms, and any treatments for the disease. The author will discuss the steps to be taken to prevent further outbreaks, including personal as well as environmental precautions and methods that can be taken.…

    • 567 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mrsa Research Paper

    • 1794 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) was first discovered in the 1880s and is a dangerous and versatile pathogen that causes many types of severe diseases. Most commonly it causes skin infections, respiratory tract infections, and food poisoning. In the 1940s, when the antibiotic medications such as penicillin was discovered and introduced, it became a primary treatment for S. aureus infections. However, misusing and overusing the use of antibiotics caused the evolution of these bacteria to become resistant to drugs that were designed to combat these infections. Throughout 1950s, S. aureus became resistant to penicillin, so methicillin was introduced to counter the growing populations of penicillin-resistant S. aureus. In 1961, the first strains of S. aureus bacteria became resistant to methicillin and so the methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) was born. Since methicillin is a form of penicillin, the MRSA are resistant to an entire class of penicillin-like antibiotics called beta-lactams. S. aureus continues to evolve and have shown more resistance to additional antibiotic drugs over time (NIH, 2008).…

    • 1794 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Mrsa Thesis Statement

    • 837 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Thesis Statement: MRSA is an infection caused by a strain of Staphylococcus that has become resistant to antibiotics commonly used to treat staph infections.…

    • 837 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    S. Aureus

    • 231 Words
    • 1 Page

    Staphylococcus aureus is a common human pathogen infamous for its versatility among antibiotics. It colonizes human skins and nares and causes infections when the host’s immune system is weakened. The infection can be acquired in both community and clinical settings, and the frequencies of staphylococcal infections have increased steadily, with little change in overall mortality (Lowy, 1998). S. aureus is incredibly versatile; it has shown to build resistance against antibiotics in a short period of time. For example, the penicillin-resistant strain of S. aureus appeared within 4 years after the introduction of penicillin G into clinical use in 1941. Also, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was discovered within the same year…

    • 231 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays