TITLE:
High MRSA Carriage Rate among Nursing Microbiology Students
AUTHORS:
Alan Lee Gillen, Whitney O. Daycock, Andrew Serafin
KEYWORDS:
Staphylococcus aureus, MRSA, Staphylococcus Carriage, Clinical Student Risks
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Microbiology,
Vol.4 No.13,
October
9,
2014
ABSTRACT: Staphylococcus aureus is a common cause of
disease, particularly in colonized persons. Although methicillin-resistant S.
aureus (MRSA) infections have become increasingly reported, population- based
studies of students preparing for the health professions having S. aureus and MRSA colonization are lacking. We have found that students in microbiology
classes having more contact with individuals in a healthcare setting are more
likely to carry MRSA in their nares and axilla. The classes who had the highest
rate of MRSA carriage during the school year, 2013-2014, were those with
nursing students, who had a greater exposure to clinical settings and nursing
homes. The class which had the highest rate of S.
aureus carriage,
had nearly 50% of the infected students had been involved a clinical setting.
Since the majority of the students in the nursing and biology courses are
looking to pursue a career in medicine, this sampling was very beneficial to
inform them and others if they were a carrier of S. aureus and MRSA and
the preventative measures to reduce the risk of infection.