AI Article Synopsis
- Patients with epidermolysis bullosa (EB) often experience chronic wounds that are frequently colonized by the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus.
- A study involving 52 Dutch patients with EB found that 100% of those with chronic wounds and 75% of those without were colonized with S. aureus, compared to 39% of healthcare workers.
- Genetic analysis revealed a diverse range of S. aureus strains, indicating that while patients often autoinoculate themselves, there is little evidence of transmission between patients or between patients and healthcare workers.
Article Abstract
Patients with the blistering disease, epidermolysis bullosa (EB), frequently suffer from chronic wounds that become colonized by pathogenic bacteria, such as Staphylococcus aureus. To determine S. aureus colonization rates in patients with EB, swabs were collected from the anterior nares, throats and wounds of 52 Dutch patients with EB. Swabs were also collected from nares and throats of 13 healthcare workers who occasionally meet the sampled patients with EB. All EB patients with chronic wounds and 75% of the patients without chronic wounds were colonized with S. aureus. In contrast, 39% of the sampled healthcare workers were colonized with S. aureus. Typing revealed a high degree of genetic diversity of 184 collected S. aureus isolates. Autoinoculation of S. aureus in individual patients with EB was shown to occur frequently, whereas transmission of S. aureus between patients with EB is apparently rare. There was no evidence for S. aureus transmission between patients with EB and healthcare workers.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0625.2012.01502.x | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!