Comparison of slime-producing coagulase-negative Staphylococcus colonization rates on vinyl and ceramic tile flooring materials.
This study investigated the colonization of slime-producing coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (CoNS) in 80 patient wards in Turkey (40 vinyl and 40 ceramic tile floors). A total of 480 samples that included 557 CoNS isolates were obtained. Slime production was investigated with the Christensen method and methicillin-susceptibility was tested by the disk-diffusion method. There was a significant difference in the percentage of slime-producing CoNS isolates on vinyl (12.4%) versus ceramic tile flooring (4.4%). From vinyl flooring, the percentage of slime producing methicillin-resistant CoNS (MRCoNS) (8.9%) was significantly higher than for methicillin-sensitive CoNS (MSCoNS) (3.6%), whereas there was no difference from ceramic tile flooring (2.5% MRCoNS versus 1.8% MSCoNS). The most commonly isolated slime-producing CoNS species was S. epidermidis on both types of flooring. It is concluded that vinyl flooring seems to be a more suitable colonization surface for slime-producing CoNS than ceramic tile floors. Further studies are needed to investigate bacterial strains colonized on flooring materials, which are potential pathogens for nosocomial infections.
Yazgi
H
H
Department of Microbiology and Clinical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Ataturk University, Erzurum, Turkey. hyazgi@hotmail.com
Uyanik
M H
MH
Ayyildiz
A
A
D002516:Ceramics / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003030:Coagulase / Q000378:metabolism*; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D003252:Construction Materials / Q000382:microbiology*; D005430:Floors and Floorcoverings; D013210:Staphylococcus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D014753:Vinyl Compounds / Q000494:pharmacology*
D003030:Coagulase; D014753:Vinyl Compounds