title: Staphylococcus aureus nasal carriage during the infectious diseases national congress in France.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Screening for (methicillin-sensitive [MSSA] or -resistant [MRSA]) Staphylococcus aureus (SA) nasal carriage in health care workers in contact with fragile patients is a recurrent question. We wanted to assess carriage among infectious diseases healthcare workers.
  
  
  METHODS
  Voluntary health care workers were recruited during the 2010 Yearly French Congress (Journées Nationales d'Infectiologie, JNI). An anonymous double nasal swab was performed followed by PCR examination (GeneXpert MRSA/SA nasal tests) carried out on the Cepheid stand. Health care workers were also asked to fill in a questionnaire. Results were available 1 hour later but kept anonymous.
  
  
  RESULTS
  One hundred and fifty-two tests and questionnaires were selected. MRSA was isolated from four health care workers (2.4%). MSSA was isolated from 52 health care workers (34.2%). Sex, clinical activity of health care workers, hospital size, and systematic screening of patients did not affect carriage.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prevalence of MSSA in nasal carriage in France is similar to the European one but the prevalence of MRSA is higher. This raises the question of a targeted decolonization in health care workers.
authors.affiliation: SPILF, France. dorotheeboisseau@yahoo.fr
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Boisseau
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Alfandari
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gauzit
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rabaud
authors.forename: J-P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Stahl
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000488:Allied Health Personnel / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002353:Carrier State / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003226:Congresses as Topic; D003666:Decontamination; D005260:Female; D005602:France; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006742:Hospital Bed Capacity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006748:Hospital Departments; D006801:Humans; D055552:Infectious Disease Medicine; D017757:Infectious Disease Transmission, Professional-to-Patient / Q000517:prevention & control; D008297:Male; D017056:Medical Laboratory Personnel; D055624:Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D009296:Nasal Cavity / Q000382:microbiology*; D009790:Occupations; D010820:Physicians / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires