Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a common
Gram-negative rod-shaped bacterium that can cause
disease in plants and animals, including humans. A species of considerable medical importance,
P. aeruginosa is a prototypical "multi drug resistant (
MDR) pathogen" that is recognised for its ubiquity, its intrinsically advanced
antibiotic resistance mechanisms, and its association with serious illnesses - especially nosocomial infections such as
ventilator-associated pneumonia and various
sepsis syndromes.