Molecular identification and antimicrobial susceptibility of Staphylococcus aureus nasal isolates from medical students in Cartagena, Colombia.

Staphylococcus aureus (SA) remains a major cause of nosocomial and community-acquired infections worldwide. Nasal carriage of this bacterium among hospital personnel constitutes an important source for nosocomial infections. A cross-sectional study enrolling the whole medical student population (n=387) of the School of Medicine at the Universidad de Cartagena, Colombia, was conducted to evaluate the carriage rates of both methicillin sensitive- and methicillin resistant-SA, the frequency of Panton-Valentine leukocidin genes in the isolates, and risk factors associated with carriage in this selected population.