title: Application of deterministic epidemic theory to nasal carriage of Staphylococcus aureus.
abstract: Nasal carriage of antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is often used as an index of cross-infection in hospitals. In this paper, a deterministic model of the epidemiology of Staphylococcal nasal carriage was derived employing the concepts of epidemic theory. This theoretical model was tested against experimental data gathered from a large survey. When the association between nasal carriage of tetracycline-resistant Staphylococci and length of stay in hospital derived from the survey was compared with theoretical figures derived from the model, the validity of the model in a real situation was confirmed.
mesh_terms: D002353:Carrier State / Q000382:microbiology*; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004739:England; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009666:Nose / Q000382:microbiology*; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000302:isolation & purification*