title: Low methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus carriage rate among Italian dental students.
abstract: We assessed methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) carriage rate among dental students from an Italian university. A total of 157 subjects participated (67 preclinical students and 90 clinical students); samples were collected from the nose, mouth, and skin. Five preclinical students and 0 clinical students were MRSA-positive. Carriage rates were 3.2% (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.4%-6.0%) overall, 7.5% (95% CI, 1.2%-13.8%) in preclinical students and 0% in clinical students. There were 2 MRSA clusters among the preclinical students: 3 second-year and 2 first-year students, who sat close to one another in the classroom the day of the sample. MRSA carriage was not associated with dental health care. The pooled carriage rate among dental students was assessed to obtain a reliable figure of carriage rate unaffected by local conditions. The 4 published surveys were pooled, and the fixed-effects method was used. Among the 484 dental students, the pooled carriage rate was 4.1% (95% CI, 2.4%-5.8%).
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy. Electronic address: stefano.petti@uniroma1.it.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Petti
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Dentistry of the Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam, VU University Amsterdam and University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Naomy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kakisina
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Dentistry of the Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam, VU University Amsterdam and University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Catherine M C
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Volgenant
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuseppe A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Messano
authors.affiliation: Department of Dental and Maxillofacial Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Ersilia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Barbato
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Passariello
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Dentistry of the Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam, VU University Amsterdam and University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Johannes J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: de Soet
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002353:Carrier State / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D055624:Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D009055:Mouth / Q000382:microbiology; D009666:Nose / Q000382:microbiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012867:Skin / Q000382:microbiology; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D013335:Students, Dental; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Dental students; Dentistry; Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA); Public health