Overview

The book covers updated topics on the genus Staphylococcus, including the latest discoveries. In each chapter, the author discusses the results obtained and published during her 20-plus years as a researcher in this area. The book is divided into eight chapters, with a presentation of the genus Staphylococcus, current classification, general characteristics of these bacteria and the clinical significance of coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS), which are often classified as mere blood culture contaminants, but are the etiological agents most commonly associated with neonatal infections and peritonitis in patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis. Coagulase-negative staphylococci can colonize the surface of catheters and produce an extracellular polysaccharide that leads to the formation of biofilms which potentiate their pathogenicity. The book also focuses on the identification of CoNS, virulence factors responsible for the symptoms and severity of infections caused by Staphylococcus spp. These factors include membrane-active toxins, called cytotoxins, and a group of pyrogenic toxin superantigens. Several current aspects related to the virulence of S. aureus and CoNS are discussed, including isolates of different origins, phenotypic and genotypic techniques for the detection of these toxins, and the gene regulation mechanism involved in the expression of these toxins. Another extremely important topic which is discussed is the resistance of these microorganisms to antimicrobial agents. MRSA currently represent a serious threat to public health worldwide due to the rapid dissemination and diversification of pandemic clones. The epidemiology of MRSA infections is discussed highlights the importance of understanding why specific clones predominated in different regions in order to develop more effective control strategies and to choose more appropriate antimicrobial therapy. In this book, the topics are explained in a clear and objective manner and should be useful for postgraduate students, physicians and researchers.

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9781631179389

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Maria de Lourdes Ribeiro de Souza da Cunha, MD in Science and Technology of the Food (1992), PhD in Tropical Diseases (1998); is biologist with main research interests in Microbiology, focusing on Bacteriology, acting on the following subjects: Staphylococcus aureus, Coagulase-Negative Staphylococci (CoNS), epidemiology, virulence factors, biofilms, enterotoxins and antimicrobial resistance. She is professor and researcher at the Department of Microbiology and Immunology of the Bioscience Institute, Sao Paulo State University (UNESP), Botucatu, SP, Brazil; Scholarship in Research Productivity of the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), an agency linked to the Ministry of Science and Tecnology (MCT), dedicated to the promotion of scientific and technological research and to the formation of human resources for research in the Brazil. Professor and mentor master's, doctoral and postdoctoral studies at the graduate program in Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Medicine of Botucatu and the Post-graduation in General Biology and Applied, Biosciences Institute, UNESP, Botucatu, SP, Brazil. She is involved in research projects as a scientific reference in Staphylococcus supported for the Sao Paulo Research Foundation FAPESP public foundation with the mission to foster research and the scientific and technological development of the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil. She is the author of more than 80 papers in international peer reviewed journals and b

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