Clostridium Difficile
Clostridium Difficile Stuart Johnson Dale N. Gerding Clostridium difficile was identified as the etiologic agent of antibiotic-associated pseudomembranous colitis (PMC) in 1978 (1,2) and is now recognized as the most…
Legionella
Legionella Janet E. Stout Angella M. Goetz Victor L. Yu HISTORY An explosive outbreak of community-acquired pneumonia occurred in July of 1976. The outbreak was among attendees of the American…
Nonfermentative Gram-Negative Bacilli
Nonfermentative Gram-Negative Bacilli Valentina Stosor Alan R. Hauser John P. Flaherty Nonfermentative gram-negative bacilli are a diverse array of microorganisms that have evolved in aquatic environments, have minimal growth requirements,…
Enterobacteriaceae
Enterobacteriaceae Stephanie R. Black Marc J.M. Bonten Robert A. Weinstein The family Enterobacteriaceae comprises a wide array of gram-negative bacilli whose reservoirs include soil, water, plants, and the gastrointestinal tracts…
Enterococcus Species
Enterococcus Species Emily K. Shuman Carol E. Chenoweth Compared with other Gram-positive cocci such as Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes, enterococci have been viewed as relatively avirulent, endogenous microorganisms with…
Mechanisms of Biofilm Formation in the Staphylococci
Mechanisms of Biofilm Formation in the Staphylococci Paul D. Fey As documented in other chapters of this text, both Staphylococcus aureus and S. epidermidis are a cause of significant infections…
Streptococci
Streptococci Kent B. Crossley Microorganisms of the genus Streptococcus were a major cause of healthcare-associated infection in the preantibiotic era. During the last half-century, they have been associated with occasional…
Coagulase-Negative Staphylococci
Coagulase-Negative Staphylococci Wilma Ziebuhr Ursula Flückiger Coagulase-negative staphylococci primarily reside on the healthy human skin and mucosa, and as commensals they are considered to exhibit a low pathogenic potential. Indeed,…
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Cassandra D. Salgado David P. Calfee INTRODUCTION Purpose of Chapter For many decades, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has been regarded as an important microorganism within acute healthcare,…
Staphylococcus Aureus
Staphylococcus Aureus Joseph F. John Jr. Sanjay K. Shukla The carrier is the archetypal stranger, both embodying the danger of microbial invasion … and transforming it into the possibility for…
