title: Firm adherence of Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis to human hair and effect of detergent treatment.
abstract: Staphylococcus aureus and S. epidermidis are common pathogens in hospitals, and care should be taken not to disseminate these organisms among patients. We have focused on human hair as a source of bacterial contamination. We treated hair with culture solutions of S. aureus and S. epidermidis, and then performed scanning electron microscopy. Bacteria were detected on the surface of the cuticles of the hair, and the attached bacteria were not completely removed even by repeated washing with detergents. These results suggested that hair could be a source of bacterial contamination and indicated the importance of decontamination of hair.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Bacteriology, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Aichi, Japan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mase
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hasegawa
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Horii
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hatakeyama
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kawano
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamashino
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ohta
mesh_terms: D001422:Bacterial Adhesion / Q000187:drug effects*; D003902:Detergents / Q000494:pharmacology; D006197:Hair / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D013212:Staphylococcus epidermidis / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000648:ultrastructure
chemical_list: D003902:Detergents