Drug-resistant bacteria gaining genes for virulence | Science Blog

Drug-resistant bacteria gaining genes for virulence | Science Blog: "'What we saw in these patients is not in the textbooks,' said Robert Daum, M.D., professor of pediatrics at the University of Chicago and senior author of the study. 'This is the first time this unusual syndrome has been described in patients with a Staph infection.'

Such cases, although rare, highlight a disturbing convergence. In the last decade, drug-resistant strains of Staph. aureus have become quite common. At the same time, reports of virulent newer strains of Staph that can cause invasive disease, extensive tissue damage and death have increased."