Infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus span a wide clinical spectrum, ranging from asymptomatic nasal carriage to endocarditis, bone and joint infections and lethal shock. Increasing rates of S. aureus infection and the emergence of community-acquired strains drive the need for an increased understanding of the virulence determinants of this emerging pathogen and evaluating the role they play in outcome of patients with S. aureus bacteremia. Evaluating the role of these virulence determinants in humans was limited by the absence of a large, well-characterized collection of bloodstream S. aureus isolates. Such a clinical resource was developed by Vance Fowler (Co-Investigator), when he created one of the world
Public Health Relevance
Genetic factors in Staphylococcus aureus play a critical role in causing and determining the severity of infection and disease. This study proposes to identify these variations in a large collection of clinically isolated, disease-causing Staphylococci by examining genes known to be involved and identifying new genes that may be involved in infection. Knowledge acquired from this study could potentially be used to develop novel and possibly preventive therapies to eradicate complicated staphylococcal infections.
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