title: Nasal carriage of Staphylococcus aureus in 4-6 age groups in healthy children in Afyonkarahisar, Turkey.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Staphylococcus aureus is a common cause of disease, particularly for colonized persons. Although methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) infection has frequently reported, population-based S. aureus and MRSA colonisation estimates are lacking. Our objective in this report is to present the prevalance of S. aureus carriage among 4-6 age groups healthy children in our region.
  
  
  METHODS
  Nasal samples for S. aureus culture were obtained from healthy children. Sociodemographic features and the data related with risk factors were obtained from the parents of the children. Nasal swabs were inoculated on to a variety of bacteriological culture media, which were then incubated at 35 +/- 1 degrees C for 16-18 h. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing of the isolates was determined according to Clinical and Laboratory Standard Institute (CLSI, 2005) guidelines.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In this study 1134 children between 4 and 6 years old age were evaluated; 607 (53.5%) of the subjects were boys and 527 (46.5%) were girls. S. aureus was isolated in 322 (28.4%) subjects and MRSA was isolated in 3 (0.3%) subjects of them. All of the MRSA isolates were found in healthcare workers' children.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This first assessment of this study is that nearly one third of the 4-6 age group healthy children population present nasal carriage of S. aureus in Turkey. However, it also shows that the rate of MRSA carriage remains low. In addition, it is considered that MRSA colonization may be a risk factor for healthcare workers' children.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Kocatepe University, Afyonkarahisar, Turkey. ihciftci@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Ihsan Hakki
authors.initials: IH
authors.lastname: Ciftci
authors.forename: Resit
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Koken
authors.forename: Aysegul
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bukulmez
authors.forename: Mehmet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ozdemir
authors.forename: Birol
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Safak
authors.forename: Zafer
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Cetinkaya
mesh_terms: D002353:Carrier State / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016106:Methicillin Resistance; D009296:Nasal Cavity / Q000382:microbiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology