Chronic infections place a significant burden on healthcare systems, requiring over $25 billion in treatment annually in the United States alone [1,2]. Notably, the majority of chronic infections, which include cystic fibrosis (CF), chronic wounds, otitis media, periodontitis, urinary tract infections, and osteomyelitis, are considered polymicrobial and are often recalcitrant to antibiotic treatment [1-9]. Although we know that diverse communities of microbes comprise these infections, how microbes interact and the impacts of these interactions on human disease are less understood. Here, we discuss recent advances in our understanding of how bacteria communicate in chronic infection, with a focus on Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and we highlight outstanding questions and controversies in the field.

中文翻译：

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微生物在慢性感染中的社会生活。

慢性感染给医疗系统带来了沉重负担，仅在美国，每年就需要超过250亿美元的治疗费用[1,2]。值得注意的是，大多数慢性感染，包括囊性纤维化（CF），慢性伤口，中耳炎，牙周炎，尿路感染和骨髓炎，被认为是多微生物的，通常对抗生素治疗具有顽固性[1-9]。尽管我们知道微生物的不同群落构成了这些感染，但人们对微生物如何相互作用以及这些相互作用对人类疾病的影响知之甚少。在这里，我们讨论了细菌在慢性感染中如何交流的最新进展，重点是金黄色葡萄球菌和铜绿假单胞菌，我们重点介绍了该领域的突出问题和争议。