MSSA:

Methicillin-susceptible S. aureus.

Multiple resistance or multiple drug resistance:

Property of bacteria that are resistant to more than one antibiotic.

Mutation:

Genetic change that can occur either randomly or at an accelerated rate through exposure to radiation or certain chemicals (mutagens) and may lead to change in structure of the protein coded by the mutated gene.

Mycobacterium:

Gram-positive, aerobic, mostly slow-growing genus of bacteria containing many species, including the highly pathogenic organisms that cause tuberculosis.

Narrow-spectrum antibiotic:

Antibiotic effective against a limited number of microorganisms; often applied to one that is active against either gram-positive or gram-negative bacteria.

Natural selection:

Process by which ancestral species of animals and plants evolve into new species.

Nosocomial infection:

Infection acquired during hospitalization that is neither present nor incubating at the time of hospital admission (unless related to prior hospitalization) and may not become clinically manifest until discharge from the hospital.

Notifiable disease:

Disease physicians are required to report to state health departments.

Nucleotide:

Basic unit of nucleic acid that makes up DNA (which carries genetic information) and RNA (which is involved in protein synthesis).

Oligonucleotide:

Polymer made up of a few (2-20) nucleotides.

Organelle:

Any of the membrane-bound, organized cytoplasmic structures of distinctive morphology and function that are present in all eukaryotic cells.

Otitis media:

Inflammation of the middle ear.

Parenteral:

Injected or for injection subcutaneously, intramuscularly, or intravenously.

Passive surveillance:

Collection of case data, based on voluntary compliance, from reporting physicians, other health care providers, and laboratories.

Pathogen:

Organism capable of causing disease.

Pathogenicity:

Capacity to cause disease.

PCR:

See polymerase chain reaction.

Peptide:

Small protein molecule.

Phenotype:

Entire physical, biochemical, and physiological makeup of an individual, which is determined both genetically and environmentally; as opposed to genotype.

Plasmid:

Circular piece of DNA not associated with the chromosome found in the cytoplasm and capable of replicating and segregating independently; many plasmids can be spread through bacterial populations by conjugation,

Front Matter (R1-R12)

Workshop Summary (1-7)

Workshop Report (8-74)

Appendix A: Inventory of Surveillance Systems (75-93)

Appendix B: American Society for Microbiology Recommendations (94-103)

Appendix C: Glossary and Acronyms (104-111)

Appendix D: Workshop Agenda (112-115)