Staphylococcus aureus can be associated with respiratory infections, wound infections, and urinary tract infections.
Respiratory infections: Staphylococcus aureus can cause severe pneumonia, especially as a secondary infection. It is an infrequent cause of community-acquired pneumonia but is notorious for causing post-influenza pneumonia (often with MRSA strains) with high mortality. Including S. aureus in the panel is justified by its importance in severe, sometimes life-threatening pneumonia and to guide antibiotic therapy (Morris et al. 2017, Borgogna & Voyich 2022,).
Wound infections: Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most prevalent causes of wound infections and can lead to a range of conditions from mild cellulitis to life-threatening sepsis. Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) is of particular concern in both community and healthcare settings. S. aureus produces multiple virulence factors, including toxins and enzymes that degrade tissue. PCR detection enables rapid diagnosis and appropriate antimicrobial management (Del Guidice 2020, Tong et al. 2015).
Urinary tract infections: Staphylococcus aureus is not a frequent cause of community-acquired UTIs but is increasingly implicated in healthcare-associated and complicated cases, particularly in patients with catheters, diabetes, or immunosuppression. It can enter the urinary tract hematogenously or via instrumentation and may lead to severe outcomes like pyelonephritis or bacteremia. The inclusion of S. aureus in PCR panels is important for early detection and intervention, especially in high-risk settings (Tong et al. 2015 , Timm et al. 2025).
Morris, D. E., Cleary, D. W., & Clarke, S. C. (2017). Secondary Bacterial Infections Associated with Influenza Pandemics. Frontiers in microbiology, 8, 1041. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2017.01041
Borgogna, T., & M. Voyich, J. (2022). Examining the Executioners, Influenza Associated Secondary Bacterial Pneumonia. IntechOpen. doi: 10.5772/intechopen.101666
Del Giudice P. (2020). Skin Infections Caused by Staphylococcus aureus. Acta dermato-venereologica, 100(9), adv00110.
Tong, S. Y., Davis, J. S., Eichenberger, E., Holland, T. L., & Fowler, V. G., Jr (2015). Staphylococcus aureus infections: epidemiology, pathophysiology, clinical manifestations, and management. Clinical microbiology reviews, 28(3), 603–661.
Timm, M.R., Russell, S.K. & Hultgren, S.J. Timm, M.R., Russell, S.K. & Hultgren, S.J. Urinary tract infections: pathogenesis, host susceptibility and emerging therapeutics. Nat Rev Microbiol 23, 72–86 (2025).
