scholarly journals Staphylococcal disease and nasal carriage in the Royal Air Force

1962 ◽  
Vol 60 (4) ◽  
pp. 451-465 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. L. Miller ◽  
J. C. McDonald ◽  
M. P. Jevons ◽  
R. E. O. Williams

1. The nasal carriage of Staph. aureus and its relation to disease was studied in new recruits, boy apprentices and trained men of the Royal Air Force.2. The proportions of Staph. aureus that were penicillin-resistant ranged from 15% in new recruits to 29% in trained men. In a school for apprentices the rate in new arrivals was 18%, and 23% for boys after the initial training. We were unable to find when these changes occurred.3. 31% of strains isolated from septic lesions were penicillin-resistant and the rate was similar in all types of unit. Resistant strains were not apparently more virulent than sensitive strains.4. About 1% of all strains isolated were resistant to tetracycline and streptomycin and much smaller proportions to chloramphenicol and erythromycin.5. The phage-group distribution was similar for nasal and lesion strains, but nearly half the penicillin-resistant lesion strains belonged to Group I, and types 52A and 3C/55/71 were much commoner in lesions than in the nose.6. Penicillin-resistant strains were more readily acquired and more rapidly lost than the sensitive strains.7. Nasal carriers suffered from septic lesions more frequently than non-carriers, and those with a lesion tended to suffer further lesions. There was no evidence of cross-infection among bedroom contacts.8. The proportion of penicillin-resistant strains rose from 30 to 40% between admission to and discharge from service hospitals. Resistant strains were not carried for long after discharge.9. Penicillin treatment resulted in a fall in the total carrier rate and a rise in the resistance rate. Phage type analysis showed that this was mainly due to elimination of sensitive strains and recolonization with resistant strains.We are greatly indebted to Miss Susan Green for the large amount of work that she did in the laboratory. We should like to thank also many Royal Air Force medical officers for their assistance, in particular Wing Commander E. S. Odbert, Wing Commander M. White, Squadron Leader M. Shearer and Flight Lieutenant A. J. Zuckerman; and the Director-General of the Royal Air Force Medical Services for permission to publish the results.

1964 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
pp. 229-237 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. J. L. Lowbury ◽  
B. J. Collins

Staph. aureusfrom burns of in-patients were tested for egg yolk reaction during three periods; in 1958 and in 1960 approximately 80 % of the strains gave a negative reaction (EY-), but in 1962 only 36 % of the strains were egg yolk negative.Staphylococci of phage group III were more commonly EY- than those of other groups isolated from burns. Within each of groups I and III, however, there were patterns predominantly EY- and others predominantly egg yolk positive (EY+); in group I the majority of strains isolated in 1960 were of phage type 52 and EY-, while those isolated in 1962 were predominantly of phage type 80 or related patterns which were always EY+.Most of the staphylococci in burns were resistant to penicillin, tetracycline and erythromycin; within groups I and III, the staphylococci which were EY- were also more commonly resistant than EY+ strains to these three antibiotics.Most of the staphylococci from burns were mercuric chloride resistant (presumptive epidemic strains); of the mercuric chloride sensitive staphylococci, the proportion of EY+ strains was greater than that of EY- strains.


1955 ◽  
Vol 53 (4) ◽  
pp. 495-508 ◽  
Author(s):  
George I. Barrow

Summary1. The results of an investigation into the clinical, epidemiological and bacteriological features of impetigo contagiosa, with special reference to the type identification of staphylococci and streptococci, are reported and discussed.2. Of 106 impetigo cases studied, Staphylococcus aureus was isolated alone from 86 lesions (81 %), Streptococcus pyogenes alone from 6 (5·6 %), and a mixed growth of Staph. aureus and haemolytic streptococci in 14 instances (13·2 %).3. Of the 100 strains of Staph. aureus isolated from impetigo lesions, 63 were identical in phage type (‘type 71’), and a further 17 were closely related (‘weak 71’).4. Only one representative of ‘type 71’, and 9 of ‘weak 71’, were obtained from 164 strains of Staph. aureus from 200 persons in three control groups.5. Of 90 strains of Staph. aureus from impetigo lesions, 64 (71 %) were resistant to penicillin. Of these penicillin-resistant strains, 54 (84 %) were of ‘type 71’, or close variants.6. Strep, pyogenes was probably causative in at least 6 of the 18 patients yielding this organism from lesions; it was presumed to be a secondary invader in the remainder.7. It is doubtful if nasal carriage is of importance in the epidemiology of impetigo.8. It is concluded that there is a specific ‘type’ of staphylococcus associated with this form of impetigo.


1953 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 64-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. B. Ludlam

1. Among infants attending Child Welfare Clinics there was a steady decline in the incidence of nasal carriage ofStaph. aureusover the first year of life.2. Infants born in hospital showed a much higher incidence ofStaph. aureusin the first 2 months of life than infants born at home. A similar difference was also very distinct in the later part of the first year of life.3. Mothers delivered 2 weeks to 2 months previously had a higher incidence of nasal carriage ofStaph. aureuswhen delivered in hospital than when delivered at home. After this interval the incidence was similar in all groups of mothers throughout the rest of the year.4. In the first few months of life there was a tendency for carriage in infants to be associated with carriage in the mother, but towards the end of the year there was no such relationship. This association appeared most clearly in infants born at home and in infants 2–5 months old born in hospital F.5. A very high proportion (25 out of 30) of the strains tested from infants born in hospital F less than 5 months previously were penicillin-resistant. Infants born at home had a much lower incidence of resistant strains.6. A high proportion of strains ofStaph. aureusisolated from mothers delivered in hospital F were resistant throughout the first year. Strains from mothers delivered in hospital C or at home showed a much lower proportion of resistant strains.7. Phage-typing showed a great variety of types, but those found among the penicillin-resistant strains were rather less varied than among the sensitive strains. WhenStaph. aureuswas found both in infant and mother, although the same phage type was commonly present in both, in 16 out of 35 couples different types were found.8. Investigation in maternity hospitals C and F showed a high proportion of penicillin-resistant strains ofStaph. aureusamong the nurses and infants and in the dust of the nurseries, but not among the mothers. There was no important difference between the two hospitals as regards the incidence of resistant strains isolated from nurses and infants in spite of the differences found in babies from the two hospitals when swabbed at the clinics.9. The significance of these results is discussed.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1959 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-42
Author(s):  
Fred E. Pittman ◽  
Calderon Howe ◽  
Louise Goode ◽  
Paul A. di Sant'Agnese

In this study, 198 strains of hemolytic, coagulase-positive Staph. aureus were recovered from 84 patients with cystic fibrosis of the pancreas and some of their relatives. The majority of the organisms fell into phage group III and were resistant in vitro to penicillin and other antibiotics. No single phage type seemed to be unduly prevalent in this group of patients with cystic fibrosis of the pancreas.


1993 ◽  
Vol 110 (3) ◽  
pp. 477-488 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. R. Marples ◽  
A. A. Wieneke

SUMMARYOver the 7 years 1985–91, 997 strains of Staphylococcus aureus from 962 patients with diseases other than food poisoning have been tested for the production of enterotoxins and toxic shock syndrome toxin-1 (TSST-1) and phage typed. In all, 128 cases could be classified as confirmed or probable toxic shock syndrome (TSS) but a further 199 cases were classified as possible or unconfirmed TSS. In 219 cases, an alternative diagnosis could be supported and 45 cases were classified as sudden infant death syndrome. In 371 cases, insufficient information for classification was available.Strains of phage group I producing TSST-1 were associated with menstrual TSS. Many menstrual TSS cases were aged less than 20 and were using non-introducer tampons.When all strains were reviewed, strong associations were observed between TSST-1 production and phage group I strains, enterotoxin B production and group V strains, enterotoxin C and phage-type 95 strains and between enterotoxin A without TSST-1 and phage group III strains.


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