title: Colonization of nursing professionals by Staphylococcus aureus.
abstract: This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the presence of Staphylococcus aureus in the saliva of the nursing team of a teaching hospital in the interior of São Paulo State. Three saliva samples were collected from 351 individuals with an interval of two months between each collection. All ethical aspects were considered. In 867 (82.3%) cultures there was no identification of Staphylococcus aureus in the saliva, in 88 (17.7%) cultures Staphylococcus aureus was isolated, 26 (2.5%) of which were resistant to methicillin. The prevalence of professionals colonized by Staphylococcus aureus was 41.0% (144/351), of which 7.1% (25/351) were characterized as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Transient carriers represented 81.2% and persistent carriers 18.8%. Resistance to mupirocin was 73.1% of MRSA and 9.3% of MSSA. The results demonstrate that it is the nurse and nursing technician that are the professional categories most susceptible to MRSA. Broader discussion on the thematic and interventions are needed.
authors.affiliation: Escola de Enfermagem de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, SP, Brazil. jpmfonseca@uol.com.br
authors.forename: Josely Pinto
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: de Moura
authors.forename: Fabiana Cristina
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Pimenta
authors.forename: Miyeko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hayashida
authors.forename: Elaine Drehmer de Almeida
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Cruz
authors.forename: Silvia Rita Marin da Silva
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Canini
authors.forename: Elucir
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gir
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002353:Carrier State / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D055624:Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D008875:Middle Aged; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital; D012463:Saliva / Q000382:microbiology*; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D055815:Young Adult