Antimicrobial resistance of Staphylococcus aureus especially methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) is continues to be a problem for clinicians worldwide, It is associated with a variety of clinical infections including septicemia, pneumonia, wound sepsis, septic arthritis, osteomyelitis and post-surgical toxic shock syndrome with substantial rates of morbidity and mortality of patients 1 and f...

Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis are notable for their propensity to form biofilms on implanted medical devices. Staphylococcal biofilm infections are typified by their recalcitrance to antibiotics and ability to circumvent host immune-mediated clearance, resulting in the establishment of chronic infections that are often recurrent in nature. Indeed, the immunomodulatory lif...

Drug-resistant staphylococci, particularly Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis, are leading causes of hospital-acquired infections. Bacteriophages and their peptidoglycan hydrolytic enzymes (lysins) are currently being explored as alternatives to conventional antibiotics; however, only a limited diversity of staphylococcal phages and their lysins has yet been characterized. Her...

AFN-1252, a potent enoyl-ACP reductase (FabI) inhibitor, is under development for the treatment of Staphylococcus aureus infections. The activity of AFN-1252 against two isolates of S. aureus, MSSA 26213 and MRSA S186, was studied in an in vitro pharmacodynamic model simulating AFN-1252 pharmacokinetics in man. Reductions in bacterial viable count over the first 6 hours were generally 1-2 logs...

An inappropriate host response to invading bacteria is a critical parameter that often aggravates the outcome of an infection. Staphylococcus aureus is a major human Gram-positive pathogen that causes a wide array of community- and hospital-acquired diseases ranging from superficial skin infections to severe conditions such as staphylococcal toxic shock. Here we find that S aureus induces infla...

Of 150 coagulase-positive staphylococcal isolates from infections in dogs, 9 isolates with biochemical properties of human biotype were characteristically agglutinated by absorbed antiserum to staphylococcal strain 17, while only 110 of 141 isolates with biochemical properties of staphylococci of canine origin were agglutinated by absorbed antiserum to strain 61218. However, upon development of...

rinary tract infections (UTI) are commonly encountered by family physicians; Staphylococcus aureus accounts for only 0.5% to 6% of all positive urine cultures.1-4 Traditionally, physicians have tended to undertreat S aureus bacteriuria due to its reputation as a common contaminant.2,4 Th is might not be true, however, and delayed treatment could lead to development of staphylococcal bacteremia,...

The aerobic microbial flora of 823 eyes with acute bacterial conjunctivitis, corneal ulceration, dacryocystitis, discharging sockets, blepharitis, and postoperative infections has been investigated. Staphylococci, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and nonfermenting Gram-negative bacilli including Pseudomonas aeruginosa were the main pathogens. Fermenting coliforms were also infrequently isolated. The l...

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is the leading cause of bacterial infections in the United States. Severe invasive MRSA infections, which include pneumonia, are difficult to treat because the bacteria are resistant to antibiotics. A new report now shows that immunization against alpha-hemolysin (Hla), a cytolytic toxin secreted by most S. aureus strains, protects mice against...

The current drama of antibiotic resistance has revived interest in phage therapy. In response to this challenge, a phage therapy center was established at our Institute in 2005 which accepts patients from Poland and abroad with antibiotic-resistant infections. We now present data showing that efficient phage therapy of staphylococcal infections is no longer a treatment of last resort (when all ...