Overview. Staphylococcus aureus, often referred to as staph, is a very common bacteria. Approximately 25-30% of healthy people carry this organism on their skin or in their nose. Sometimes, staph causes an infection.Staph bacteria are the most common causes of skin infections in the United States.verview. Staphylococcus aureus, often referred to as staph, is a very common bacteria. Approximately 25-30% of healthy people carry this organism on their skin or in their nose. Sometimes, staph causes an infection.
Bacteria can often be killed by antibiotics because the cell wall on the outside is destroyed, expelling the DNA out of the body of the pathogen, therefore making the pathogen incapable of producing proteins and dies. Bacteria typically range between 1 and 5 micrometers in length.
Eventually, scientists learned that penicillin kills bacteria by inhibiting their cell wall synthesis. In other words, it stops bacteria from making a strong, correctly-formed outer wall. Nowadays, there are many other antibiotics besides penicillin that also target the bacterial cell wall.