Findings of enterotoxigenic Staphylococcus aureus strains in scarlet fever.
From 48 out of 143 scarlet fever patients in the age range of 3-15 years, Staphylococcus aureus strains were isolated in the course of hospitalization or convalescence (isolation rate 33.6%). Staphylococcal enterotoxin (SE) was produced by 19 (39.6%) of these isolates. The most frequent SE types detected were A (47.4%) and C (36.8%); type B was produced by 2 strains, type E by 1, while type D, or a combination of SE types, was not detected at all (by means of immunodiffusion in a micromodification). So far no significant correlation has been found between the clinical course of scarlet fever or accompanying complaints and presence of SE-positive S. aureus strains. The significance of these findings is discussed.
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003289:Convalescence; D004768:Enterotoxins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D006801:Humans; D005779:Immunodiffusion; D009305:Nasopharynx / Q000382:microbiology; D012541:Scarlet Fever / Q000382:microbiology*; D013045:Species Specificity; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000378:metabolism
D004768:Enterotoxins