An Ecological Niche forStaphylococcus saprophyticus

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Abstract
Staphylococcus saprophyticus has long been associated with urinary tract infections, particularly in young women. This organism has rarely been found, in large numbers, colonising the body surface or other tissue and its ecological niche has largely remained a mystery. During studies carried out on volunteers of both sexes and of different age groups to show the numerical distribution of staphylococci from feet, some 10 000 strains were isolated and identified using a multipoint identification scheme. Novobiocin-resistant staphylococci, particularly S. cohnü, were shown to be present in concentrations of greater than 105 c.f.u./cm2 on a range of individuals of both sexes, but S. saprophyticus was only isolated in these numbers from female volunteers between the ages of 10 and 29 yr. This corresponds to the peak age for urinary tract infections of which this organism is an aetiological agent.