First defense (Home News Tribune)

When the conversation turns to handwashing, Michele Samarya-Timm likes to get up on her soapbox.

Staphylococcus (in Greek staphyle means bunch of grapes and coccos means granule) is a genus of Gram-positive bacteria. Under the microscope they appear round (cocci), and form in grape-like clusters.The Staphylococcus genus includes thirty-one species. Most are harmless and reside normally on the skin and mucous membranes of humans and other organisms. Found worldwide, they are a small component of soil microbial flora.