Frequency of Staphylococci in Oral Cavity of Healthy Medical Workers

Abstract

Hospitals are the places where infective agents abound. Medical workers may be contaminated by these nosocomial infective agents, such as methicillin-resistant staphylococci. To better understand the potential role of medical staff as a reservoir for circulating pathogenic bacteria and their transmission, we analyzed staphylococcal colonization in the oral cavities of six medical staff members who work at Nihon University Hospital at Matsudo. Oral samples were obtained by swabbing the oral cavities with sterile cotton swabs, and then the inoculated samples were evaluated using routine bacteriological study methods. Staphylococci were detected in the oral samples of all of the medical staff. Staphylococcus epidermidis was the most predominant species in the oral cavity (75.1%).None of the medical staff were infected with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), but three of six staff members possessed methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococci (MR-CNS).Medical staff members are both at risk of infection and are a potential source of nosocomial pathogens such as methicillin-resistant staphylococci. As a preventive measure against nosocomial infection, it might be necessary to continuously investigate the frequency of methicillin-resistant staphylococci in the oral cavities of medical staff.

Origins of Nasal and Oral Staphylococci

“…We previously reported the isolation frequency of oral and nasal staphylococci (7,8). Staphylococci were detected from both cavities of all six subjects.…”

“…Staphylococcus isolates obtained in our previous studies (7,8) were used. These were isolated from the nasal and oral cavities of six medical workers, who work at Nihon University Hospital at Matsudo.…”

“…Ohara-Nemoto et al (6) previously reported that genotyping using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) provided evidence of nasal-oral trafficking of Staphylococcus species. In our previous studies (7,8), we have found that the presence of Staphylococcus epidermidis was significantly high in the nasal and oral cavities of healthy medical staff. However, the distribution of other Staphylococcus species showed diversity in the nasal and oral cavities.…”