Staphylococcus aureus, commonly known as golden staph, is a Gram-positive bacterium that is a pathogen in humans and animals alike. It is estimated that the latent carriers of this bacterium can be as many as 10–50% of humans. A particularly high proportion of carriers is among medical professionals. This bacterium is one of the key causes of nosocomial infections. Staphylococcus aureus usually occurs in the nasopharyngeal cavity and on the skin. Its presence on the skin can lead to numerous infections of the skin and subcutaneous tissues, such as abscesses, styes, boils, impetigo, mastitis in breast-feeding women, etc. Golden staph can also cause numerous systemic infections (e.g. pneumonia, tracheitis or sepsis) and food poisoning with a very short incubation period (around 2 hours). S. aureus is sensitive to higher temperatures, while the enterotoxin it produces is very resistant to high temperatures. Thus, food poisoning can result from eating heat treated food if it has previously been contaminated with Staphylococcus aureus.