Non-specificity of Staphylococcus generic primers.

The genus Staphylococcus is virtually ubiquitous and, at the time of writing, represented by 37 species and numerous subspecies (http://www.bacterio.cict.fr/s/ staphylococcus.html). At least 12 of these staphylococcal species/subspecies are human commensals that can become opportunistic pathogens (Kloos et al., 1992). For example, Staphylococcus epidermidis (the most prevalent colonizer of the human skin) can cause nosocomial infections (von Eiff et al., 2002), while Staphylococcus aureus (which occupies the anterior nares in 50–75 % of healthy individuals) can cause scalded skin syndrome and toxic shock syndrome (Ellis et al., 2003; Hanakawa et al., 2002).