Drug-resistant bacteria

Staphylococcus aureus bacteria are often simply called "staph" (pronounced "staff") bacteria. Staph bacteria can live harmlessly on many skin surfaces, especially around the nose, mouth, genitals, and rectum. But when the skin is punctured or broken for any reason, staph bacteria can enter the wound and cause an infection.

Staph bacteria can cause folliculitis, boils, scalded skin syndrome, impetigo, toxic shock syndrome, cellulitis, and other types of infections.

The social lives of bacteria
When antibiotics first came on the scene it looked like humans had gained the upper hand on bacteria once and for all. Well, it turns out we had won a significant battle, but the war was far from over. In recent decades, bacteria have rapidly acquired resistance to antibiotics. Just this month the New England Journal of Medicine reported that a form of staph bacteria resistant to all but the strongest antibiotics has become surprisingly common. And to make matters worse, the supply of new antibiotics is drying up. As the Health Show's Greg Dahlmann reports, that's pushing researchers to approach bacteria in new ways.