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IMAGE: Digitally colorized scanning electron microscopic image of Staphylococcus aureus bacteria (mustard-colored) enmeshed within a human white blood cell (red-colored).
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Credit: NIAID
The bacterium Staphylococcus epidermidisis primarily a harmless microbe found on the skin and in the noses of humans. Yet some strains of this species can cause infections - in catheters, artificial joints, heart valves, and in the bloodstream - which are difficult to treat. These bacteria are often resistant to a particularly effective antibiotic, methicillin, and are among the most feared germs in hospitals. How these usually harmless skin microbes become deadly pathogens has been unclear up to now.