health

They cannot be seen with the naked eye, but bacteria* cover the skin’s surface.
Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) bacteria, also called staph (pronounced
“staff”) bacteria, often live on people’s skin, particularly around openings
such as the nose, mouth, genitals*, and anus*, and sometimes inside the
nose and mouth, without causing disease. But when a person’s skin is
broken or cut, the bacteria can enter the wound and cause an infection.
Staph infections range from minor skin infections to joint, bone, or lung
infections to widespread or systemic infections that can be life threatening.
Some strains* of staph produce a toxin (or poison) that causes illness.
Newborns, elderly people, and people with immune systems* weakened
by diseases such as cancer and AIDS* are at greater risk of serious
staph infections. Some serious infections, often resistant to many antibiotics,
can be acquired in a hospital when a patient is being treated for
another condition. In fact, in the United States, staph infections are considered
the leading cause of primary infections that result from being
medically treated within hospitals and healthcare centers; or, what are
called nosocomial (nas-eh-KO-meh-el) infections.