This Drug-Resistant Bacteria Could Be Hiding in Your Armpits Right Now

Staphylococcus or, as it’s more widely known, staph, is one of the most common bacteria found on humans around the world. But what exactly is a staph infection?
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In some cases, staph can pose a real threat to your body’s immune system even—proving lethal. So, if it’s so widespread, why aren’t we all getting infected?

Seeker sat down with Dr. Vance Fowler, a Infectious Disease Specialist at the Duke University Medical Center, to find out more about the clinical care and research surrounding staph.

Staph is a bacteria that lives on our skin and approximately 40% of people carry it on their body but are asymptomatic. There are many different kinds of staph but there is one that causes the most problems in human medicine—Staphylococcus Aureus.

Staphylococcus Aureus is generally the bacteria people are talking about when they refer to a staph infection.

Staph Aureus can be colonized in the nose, armpits, genital areas, and other parts of the skin and this colonization can go on for years with patients being asymptomatic for most of their lives.

But this staph can go from being a bystander to being trouble. Find out more about the bacteria that exists on nearly half of us in this episode of SICK.

#Staph #Infection #Health #PublicHealth #Medicine #Healthcare #SICK #Seeker
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SICK is a new series that looks at how diseases actually work inside our body. We'll be visiting medical centers and talking to top researchers and doctors to uncover the mysteries of viruses, bacteria, fungi and our own immune system. Come back every Tuesday for a new episode and let us know in the comments which diseases you think we should cover next.
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