TY - JOUR
T1 - Transmission of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus to Human Volunteers Visiting a Swine Farm
AU - Angen, Øystein
AU - Feld, Louise
AU - Larsen, Jesper
AU - Rostgaard, Klaus
AU - Skov, Robert
AU - Madsen, Anne Mette
AU - Larsen, Anders Rhod
N1 - Copyright © 2017 Angen et al.
PY - 2017/12/1
Y1 - 2017/12/1
N2 - Transmission of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) from animals to humans is of great concern due to the implications for human health and the health care system. The objective was to investigate the frequency and duration of MRSA carriage in human volunteers after a short-term exposure in a swine farm. The experimental study included 34 human volunteers staying 1 h in a MRSApositive swine farm in four trials. In two of the trials, the influence of farm work involving pig contact was studied using a crossover design. The quantities of MRSA in nasal swabs, throat swabs, and air samples were measured at different time points and analyzed in relation to relevant covariates. This investigation showed that, overall, 94% of the volunteers acquired MRSA during the farm visit. Two hours after the volunteers left the stable, the nasal MRSA count had declined to unquantifiable levels in 95% of the samples. After 48 h, 94% of the volunteers were MRSA-negative. Nasal MRSA carriage was positively correlated to personal exposure to airborne MRSA and farm work involving pig contact and negatively correlated to smoking. No association was observed between MRSA carriage and face touching behavior, nasal methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) carriage, age, or gender. The increase in human MRSA carriage among the volunteers with pig contact seems to be dependent on the increased concentration of airborne MRSA of the surrounding air and not directly on physical contact with pigs. MRSA was not detected in any of the throat samples.
AB - Transmission of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) from animals to humans is of great concern due to the implications for human health and the health care system. The objective was to investigate the frequency and duration of MRSA carriage in human volunteers after a short-term exposure in a swine farm. The experimental study included 34 human volunteers staying 1 h in a MRSApositive swine farm in four trials. In two of the trials, the influence of farm work involving pig contact was studied using a crossover design. The quantities of MRSA in nasal swabs, throat swabs, and air samples were measured at different time points and analyzed in relation to relevant covariates. This investigation showed that, overall, 94% of the volunteers acquired MRSA during the farm visit. Two hours after the volunteers left the stable, the nasal MRSA count had declined to unquantifiable levels in 95% of the samples. After 48 h, 94% of the volunteers were MRSA-negative. Nasal MRSA carriage was positively correlated to personal exposure to airborne MRSA and farm work involving pig contact and negatively correlated to smoking. No association was observed between MRSA carriage and face touching behavior, nasal methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) carriage, age, or gender. The increase in human MRSA carriage among the volunteers with pig contact seems to be dependent on the increased concentration of airborne MRSA of the surrounding air and not directly on physical contact with pigs. MRSA was not detected in any of the throat samples.
KW - Journal Article
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85034018859&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1128/AEM.01489-17
DO - 10.1128/AEM.01489-17
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 28970219
SN - 0099-2240
VL - 83
JO - Applied and Environmental Microbiology
JF - Applied and Environmental Microbiology
IS - 23
M1 - e01489-17
ER -