Micrococcus is the a genus of a spherical shaped bacteria in the family of Micrococcaceae. Micrococcus is categorized as a aerobic gram positive cocci that are found in pairs, clusters or tetrads but never in chains. They are normally found on the human that even have an essential in keeping a balance among the skin flora(britannica.com). Medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com defines skin flora “as a population of pathogenic and innocuous microorganisms (MOs)normally living on skin, and within mouth, respiratory tract and large intestine” Some species of Micrococcus can be found in soil, dust of air , marine water and on the skin or even in the skin glands. Micrococcus has been found to have occasionally been reported as the cause of pneumonia, …show more content…
It gets its name from micro meaning microscopic, coccus meaning spherical shape of the organism and luteus meaning yellow. An obligate aerobe, M. luteus is found in soil, dust, water and air, and as part of the normal flora of the mammalian skin.M. luteus is mostly found in environments where the temperature is around 98.6 °F since this is the temperature at which its usual is known to be at regular body temperature. It also grows in beer as well as its growth in dairy products and can be transmitted consumption of milk (sciencedirect.com). The bacterium also colonizes the human mouth, mucosae, oropharynx and upper respiratory tract. Although once regarded as non-pathogenic, it is now considered an opportunistic pathogen, especially in patients with a compromised immune system. It is also responsible for an infection that can be originating from a hospital.In hospitals, the bacteria can be transmitted by hospital staff who may have failed to wash their hands properly by going from one patient to another. It was discovered by Sir Alexander Fleming before he discovered Penicillin in 1928