Species of bacterium
Staphylococcus caprae is a Gram-positive, coccus bacteria and a member of the genus Staphylococcus. S. caprae is coagulase-negative. It was originally isolated from goats (caprae means "of a goat"), but members of this species have also been isolated from human samples.
Clinical importance
Staphylococcus caprae occurs as a commensal on human skin, but has also been implicated in infections of the bloodstream, urinary tract, bones, and joints. Because S. caprae is difficult to identify definitively in the laboratory,[1] according to a study in 2014, the incidence of S. caprae in humans is under-reported.[2]
Literature and further reading
It is a coagulase-negative, DNase-positive member of the genus Staphylococcus. Usually it is associated with goats. Since 1991, a few laboratories reported that they had isolated the organism from human clinical specimens.[3] It is now an emerging microorganism in joint and bone infections in humans.[4]
Staphylococcus caprae was first described in 1983 by Devisee et al. based on a strain isolated from goat milk. It can sometimes cause mastitis in the goats, and it is considered a commensal organism for the goats’ skin and mammary glands. It has been reported as a pathogen for humans acquired at hospitals, mostly in bone and joint infections.[5] There have also been studies on S. caprae causing sepsis in clinical settings.[6]
