Staphylococcus Aureus is a pretty harmless gram positive bacteria which lives in our body, it can respire both aerobically as well as anerobically some of the Staphylococcus bacteria can however cause disease. While going through various resources I found that Staphylococcus Aureus was first discovered in Scotland in 1880 by a surgeon named Dr. Alexander Ogston and in US near about 5, 00,000 of people are infected every year with Staph when they stay in hospitals.S.Aureus is also known as “golden cluster seed”.

Staphylococcus is found usually in the skin and nose, in people who are infected it is found in blood, stool, in their injured skin and also in genitals, in the furs of animal and in food items such as milk of infected cow or from food items which are infected with Staphylococcus.

Staph Reservoir:

Humans are the primary reservoir of Staph, Staph is also found in cows (mastitis), poultry, and pets (dogs, cats).

Who can get infected with Staph?

Anyone can get infected with Staph but however those who are at a greater risk of infection are:

New born babies
Women who are breast feeding their babies
People who have a weak immune system such as diabetes, AIDS or cancer.
People who take intravenous drugs
People who are suffering from some sort of skin injury or disorders.

The symptom of Staph infection can be the accumulation of pus in the infected area where the area swell and it becomes red and pain is there. When Staph is found in our blood stream then it can cause fever, feeling of cold and also a low blood pressure.

How Is Staph Infection Spread?

1. One of the common causes for the spread of Staph is contact with the persons who are already infected when they share their towels, clothings, bed linen or using public shower. Infection spreads fast when there is sweat as the moist environment triggers bacterial growth.
2. Staph infection also spreads few days after surgery. It is advisable to keep the area where surgery has been done bandaged and clean so as to prevent infection.
3. Some patients who have a weak immune system due to AIDS or cancer acquire the infection of Staph fast.
4. Infection of Staph also spreads by milking a cow who is suffering from Staph mastitis.

Symptoms of Staph food poisoning usually occurs under 4 to 6 hours after consuming the food which is contaminated and the incubation period of Staphylococcus Aureus infection is about 4 to 10 days.

Diseases caused due to Staph

Skin infection is the most common type of disease caused due to Staph.In breast feeding women it can cause mastitis; mastitis is defined as the inflammation of breast.

When Staph is found in our blood stream it can cause serious illness by entering important body organs.Staph in lungs can cause Pneumonia, if it is present in heart can cause heart disease and in bones it can lead to inflammation of bones.
If you eat food contaminated with Staph then you can suffer from diarrhea, vomiting and also dehydration.

Staph can be infectious and can spread through contact as pus from your wound can get transmitted to others so a proper hygiene needs to be maintained by washing your hands with an anti bacterial soap.

Diagnosis:

Diagnosis of the symptoms of Staph if they are minor skin infections can be done by the appearance. When Staphylococcus is found in blood then blood tests are conducted to confirm the infection.

Treatment:

Minor skin infections caused due to Staph can be treated by applying anti biotic ointments or taking oral antibiotic medicines.Serious conditions like presence of abscess can be removed by doing some minor surgeries while for some other conditions intravenous antibiotics are being given.

Staph infection can be prevented by following a proper hygiene by thoroughly washing your hands, avoiding contact with people infected from Staph and washing your wounds carefully.