1.   In recent years, staph germs have grown increasingly resistant to antibiotics.

2.   The CDC fears that vancomycin resistance in staph germs could follow the kind of trend that has occurred before.

3.   Within the last year, scattered signs of intermediate resistance have been reported in staph germs in New York, New Jersey, Michigan and outside the United States.

4.   About half of all staph germs in hospitals are resistant to meticillin, the standard treatment, and are increasingly resistant to vancomycin.

5.   Von Eiff said the next step is to develop ways to eliminate the staph germ in the nose, before it develops into an infection.