Staphylococcus:A group of bacteria that cause a multitude of diseases. Under amicroscope,staphylococcusbacteria are round and bunched together. They can cause illness directly by infection or indirectly through products they make, such as the toxins responsible forfood poisoningand toxicshocksyndrome. The best-known member of the staphylococcus family is Staphylococcus aureus. A drug resistant form of Staphylococcus aureus is called MRSA (甲氧西林resistant Staph. aureus). Staphylococci are the main culprits in hospital-acquiredinfections, and they cause thousands of deaths every year. Also known as staph.
