Clonal Comparison of<i>Staphylococcus aureus</i>Isolates from Healthy Pig Farmers, Human Controls, and Pigs

Abstract

Pig farming is a risk factor for increased nasal Staphylococcus aureus colonization. Using sequence typing and phylogenetic comparisons, we showed that overcolonization of farmers was caused by a few bacterial strains that were not present in nonfarmers but often caused swine infections. This finding suggests a high rate of strain exchange between pigs and farmers.