The Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy

Tetracyclines remain highly active against CoNS and resistance is declining

BACKGROUND

Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) are a broad group of species that commensally inhabit the human skin, mucous membranes (S. hominis, S. epidermidis), and vaginal tract (S. saprophyticus). Although they are less virulent than the coagulase-positive S. aureus and almost never pathogenic in healthy individuals, their persistence on hospital surfaces and devices has made them the most common source of bloodstream infections. Overlooked in the past because they primarily contaminated cultures, CoNS have emerged as a clinically relevant pathogen implicated in up to 30%of health care–associated sepsis.

RESISTANCE BY U.S. CENSUS DIVISION, 1999-2010