Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Preface
- 1 The basis of the skin surface ecosystem
- 2 Nutrition of cutaneous resident microorganisms
- 3 Physical factors affecting the skin flora and skin disease
- 4 Coryneform bacteria
- 5 Coryneforms as pathogens
- 6 Staphylococci on the skin
- 7 Staphylococci as pathogens
- 8 Streptococci and the skin
- 9 Other cutaneous bacteria
- 10 Fungi and fungal infections of the skin
- 11 Bacterial and fungal skin disease in animals
- 12 Viral skin disease in man
- 13 Viral skin disease in animals
- 14 Microbial interactions on skin
- 15 Adherence of skin microorganisms and the development of skin flora from birth
- 16 Skin disinfection
- Index
7 - Staphylococci as pathogens
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 December 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Preface
- 1 The basis of the skin surface ecosystem
- 2 Nutrition of cutaneous resident microorganisms
- 3 Physical factors affecting the skin flora and skin disease
- 4 Coryneform bacteria
- 5 Coryneforms as pathogens
- 6 Staphylococci on the skin
- 7 Staphylococci as pathogens
- 8 Streptococci and the skin
- 9 Other cutaneous bacteria
- 10 Fungi and fungal infections of the skin
- 11 Bacterial and fungal skin disease in animals
- 12 Viral skin disease in man
- 13 Viral skin disease in animals
- 14 Microbial interactions on skin
- 15 Adherence of skin microorganisms and the development of skin flora from birth
- 16 Skin disinfection
- Index
Summary
In recent years there has been a much greater appreciation of the role of the normal skin flora in infection. The coagulase-negative staphylococci are now well-established pathogens in certain areas, whilst Staphylococcus aureus remains a potent pathogen, able to exhibit new antibiotic resistance patterns and to continue to infect the immunocompetent and -incompetent alike. In this chapter a brief consideration of the possible pathogenicity factors as they affect the skin will be followed by an examination of the epidemiology and aetiology of various staphylococcal infections of the skin and of the role of skin staphylococci in infection of other tissues.
With specific exceptions described below, the ability of S. aureus to cause infection seems to depend on the ability of the organism to produce a cocktail of enzymes or toxins that contribute to the final appearance of disease. In studies of a mouse model of infection with S. aureus, in which an outward sign of infection was skin necrosis due to the production of alpha toxin, it was found that strains known to produce massive amounts of alpha toxin in vitro might still prove avirulent for mice because they lacked other enzymes or toxins necessary to persist and metabolize in vivo.
A list of potential pathogenicity or virulence factors is given in Table 7.1. A full description of the activity of each is beyond the scope of this chapter but this has been reviewed on several occasions.
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- The Skin Microflora and Microbial Skin Disease , pp. 153 - 172Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1993
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