A new study conducted by Erasmus University Medical Center (MC) in Rotterdam, Netherlands, has revealed that about 70% of eczema patients are colonised with Staphylococcus aureus bacteria (S. aureus), including Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), on their skin lesions.

Patients with more severe eczema disease exhibit a greater risk of being colonised.

Staphylococcus aureus is a gram-positive coccal bacterium that is often found in the nose, respiratory tract, and on the skin of a person.

MRSA is a bacterium that causes a wide range of difficult-to-treat infections in humans.

Also known as dermatitis, eczema is an inflammation of the skin that is characterised by itchy, erythematous, vesicular, weeping, and crusting patches.

The study showed that eczema patients are also found to have a strain of S. aureus that produces a toxin stimulating the inflammatory response, thereby adding to the skin barrier defects in eczema.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

At present, eczema is treated with corticosteroids and in the case of infection, with antibiotics.

If used for long periods, these treatments can cause side effects such as drug-resistance and damage to the skin's normal beneficial bacteria.

Erasmus MC University paediatric dermatology professor Suzanne Pasmans said: “This review demonstrates the importance of colonisation with S. aureus, as a factor in the pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis.

"To decipher the exact role of S. aureus, studies using targeted antistaphylococcal therapy for the skin need to be done."

“To decipher the exact role of S. aureus, studies using targeted antistaphylococcal therapy for the skin need to be done.”

Dutch biotech company Micreos funded the study and is developing a bacteria-killing enzyme or endolysin known as Staphefekt, which can be effective in killing MRSA along with other strains of S. aureus.

Staphefekt is the first endolysin registered for use on the skin's microbiome.

Unlike antibiotics, bacterial resistance to Staphefekt has not yet been observed or expected, and its specificity means beneficial bacteria are preserved, thereby facilitating its long-term daily use.


Image: Scanning electron micrograph of S. aureus. Photo: courtesy of CDC / Janice Haney Carr.