ABSTRACT
Staphylococcus aureus has been an important human pathogen whose contribution to infections outside of hospitals has been relatively constant while its role in hospital-acquired infections has increased over the last several decades (1-5). Although perhaps more prominent prior to the era of antibiotics and among normal populations, e.g., nurseries, the bacterium has been able to persist as a major cause of human infection and has adapted quickly to antibiotic pressure. The advent of a large number of medical devices as well as structural and immune compromise has ensured that S. aureus will continue to be a major cause of human infection. Infections range from the most simple, e.g., superficial skin infection, to complex, e.g., endocarditis, brain abscess, and osteomyelitis. Given that the bacterium is often a component of the normal flora, given its continuing possession of several virulence factors, and given the many opportunities that arise for it to gain an advantage, it is not surprising that the actual numbers of infections among humans are many and that the infections affect both ambulatory patients and those who are admitted to hospitals. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, the exponential increase in the occurrence of staphylococcal toxic-shock syndrome proved to be a function of human engineering; whereas this systemic illness had indeed been described in other words for as long as S. aureus was so recognized, the use of tampons, which enhanced toxin production, was largely implicated in an epidemic that has now essentially passed.
