Determinants, risks & dynamics of staphylococcus aureus nasal carriage

S. aureus nasal carriage has been identified as the key to preventing S. aureus infections. As stated earlier, to fully exploit this key we will first have to unlock the fundamental mechanisms underlying it. Much research so far has focused on bacterial factors in trying to explain carriage. Often in vitro data could not be corroborated in vivo, not to mention real life. So far, no single common genetic or phenotypic characteristics segregating successful from less- or non-successful colonizing S. aureus strains have been identified. However, lipoteichoic acid and clumping factor B (ClfB) have been implicated as essential bacterial factors for S. aureus nasal colonization recently. Furthermore, most studies on host factors associated with carriage have been performed in the hospital setting. We, therefore, decided to study the host as the main determinant of S. aureus nasal carriage in the community setting.

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