Throat Swabs Are Necessary to Reliably Detect Carriers of Staphylococcus aureus

• DOI: 10.1086/520016
• Publication Date: 2007-07-25T14:39:00Z
• Authors: D. Mertz; R. Frei; B. Jaussi; A. Tietz; C. Stebler; U. Fluckiger; A. F. Widmer
• Keywords: Male; 0301 basic medicine; Staphylococcus aureus; Nose; Staphylococcal Infections; Sensitivity and Specificity; 3. Good health; 03 medical and health sciences; Carrier State; Humans; Mass Screening; Pharynx; Female

The anterior nares are the most important screening site of colonization with Staphylococcus aureus. We screened 2966 individuals for S. aureus carriage with swabs of both nares and throat. A total of 37.1% of persons were nasal carriers, and 12.8% were solely throat carriers. Screening of throat swabs significantly increases the sensitivity of detection among carriers by 25.7%.