Prevalence of community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in oral and nasal cavities of 4 to 13-year-old rural school children: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

AIM: (CA-MRSA) in 4 to 13-year-old rural schoolchildren. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 100 children aged 4 to 13 years were randomly selected and divided into ten groups based on their age (Group 1 = 4-year-old children to Group 10 = 13-year-old children). From each participating child, sampling was done from the anterior nares and dorsum of the tongue. All samples were inoculated into Baird-Parker agar medium and HiCrome™ MeReSa agar medium for the isolation of SA and MRSA. Both the culture plates were checked for the presence of SA and MRSA and overall SA and MRSA carriage. The distribution of SA and MRSA was evaluated. Descriptive statistics were performed using SPSS software (version 17.0). RESULTS: < 0.001). CONCLUSION: A significant relation was found between nasal SA and CA-MRSA carriage, with oral SA and CA-MRSA carriage. The study concludes that oral cavity is possibly as important as the nasal area as a zone of SA and MRSA. Dentists dealing with pediatric population should take proper precautions to prevent cross contamination of SA and MRSA in the dental clinic.