Observational cross-sectional study of nasal staphylococcal species of medical students of diverse geographical origin, prior to healthcare exposure: prevalence of SCC, , and the arginine catabolite mobile element (ACME) in the absence of selective antibiotic pressure.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate co-located nasal and coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) (mainly ), recovered from healthy medical students in their preclinical year, prior to exposure to the healthcare environment, for the carriage of genes and genetic elements common to both species and that may contribute to and methicillin-resistant (MRSA) evolution.

Design: Prospective observational cross-sectional study. Carriage of antimicrobial resistance and virulence-associated genes in the absence of significant antibiotic selective pressure was investigated among healthy medical students from geographically diverse origins who were nasally co-colonised with and CoNS.

Colonisation of Irish patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease by and analysis of the pneumococcal vaccine coverage: a non-interventional, observational, prospective cohort study.

Objectives: To characterise the pattern of colonisation and serotypes of among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who currently receive the 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV-23) according to vaccination status, use of antibiotics and steroids. To investigate the prevalence of PPV-23 and 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV-13) serotypes within the study cohort.

Design: A non-interventional, observational, prospective cohort study with a 12 -month follow-up period inclusive of quarterly study visits.