Staphylococcus Aureus Nasal Carriage Among Technical Staff of a Teaching Hospital: An Unexpected Group at Risk of Colonization

The repeated exposition to S. aureus is considered as a determining factor of acquisition of the nasal colonization. The healthcare professionals are regularly in touch with this pathogenic bacterium. Prevalence of the nasal carriage of S. aureus in this population was the object of several studies but little took into account the respect for the rules of good hygienic practice. The results of our previous study carried out during the international congress of staphylococci (ISSSI, Lyon in August 26-30th, 2012) showed an association between the work in a hospital environment and the increase of the risk of nasal carriage. On the contrary, the use of the hydro-alcoholic solutions had a protective effect against this carriage. However, sized of the health care population of our study was limited.

The goal of this study is to confirm our previous results on a larger cohort of healthcare professionals. The main objective is to estimate the prevalence of nasal carriage according to the professional category and by taking into account the degree of conformity with good hygiene practices including the use of hydro-alcoholic solutions.