Staphylococcus AureusColonization and Familial Transmission Over a One Year Period

Abstract

Methods: 177 adults and 86 minors comprising 95 family units were enrolled from two counties in Iowa and followed up for 52 weeks. Random effects logistic regression was used to test the effect of different risk factors on the probability of an individual falling into a different S. aureus colonization categories. Additionally, the frequency of S. aureus colonization events and familial transmission events were calculated.Results: The number of positive environmental sites within a participant's house was associated with being a persistent carrier compared to being a non-carrier or intermittent carrier. Age, sharing bath towels, and the number of positive environmental sites within a participant's house were associated with being a persistent or intermittent carrier. Colonization events per year were 3.95 for adults and 3.04 for minors. Duration of colonization was longest for persistent carriers (92.3 days for adults and 97.8 days for minors), and intermittent carriers had the most colonization events.Conclusions: The average duration of colonization was significantly different when comparing intermittent carriers and non-carriers. We have also established estimates of the duration of colonization and the frequency of transmission events among family units in a non-healthcare population.