Bacteriology: gram-positive cocci — staphylococci, streptococci
Microbiology · MBBS
Study notes
A boil's pus grows golden colonies — Staphylococcus aureus, MRSA on testing. S. aureus (coagulase-positive, golden pigment) causes boils, abscesses, food poisoning (preformed enterotoxin — vomiting within hours), and toxic shock; MRSA (mecA gene — altered penicillin-binding protein) resists all beta-lactams — treat with vancomycin/linezolid. Nasal carriage spreads it in hospitals — decolonization (mupirocin) and hand hygiene break chains. The golden cluster is the ward's commonest enemy.
Related topics
- General microbiology: bacterial morphology, staining, culture media
- General microbiology: sterilization and disinfection, biomedical waste
- Bacteriology: gram-negative cocci, gram-positive bacilli
- Bacteriology: enterobacteriaceae — E. coli, salmonella, shigella, vibrio
- Bacteriology: mycobacteria — tuberculosis, leprosy
- Bacteriology: spirochetes, rickettsiae, chlamydiae, mycoplasma