Hello.
We are Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus! You've probably
heard of us, we are pretty famous after all. We like to infect people
with weakened immune systems or open wounds, so hanging out in hospitals
is our idea of fun. Thanks to all those health care staff who keep
things nice and grubby for us - we hate it when people bother to
wash their hands.
Under the microscope, we look like little bunches of grapes and on an agar plate, we grow as large yellow colonies. Not only does our pretty golden color make us the envy of the bacterial world, but also helps us survive attacks from your immune system.
We are actually a newer, improved version of boring old Staphylococcus aureus, which colonizes the noses of about 25% of you humans. But we have an added weapon - we have evolved resistance to penicillin and the other antibiotics you like to try to kill us with. So there is no getting rid of us. Resistance is futile, pathetic humans!
