[Nasal carriage of community-acquired Staphylococcus aureus and drug sensitivity tests in healthy children in Chengdu].

Objective To investigate nasal carriage of community-acquired Staphylococcus aureus and its drug sensitivities in healthy children in Chengdu.Methods Nasal swabs were collected from healthy children from primary schools and kindergartens in Chengdu in two stages(2005-2007 and 2008-2010).All specimens were cultivated.Once S.aureus was identified,drug susceptibility tests(disk diffusion method) were performed with penicillin,erythromycin,clindamycin,ceftazidime and vancomycin.Results 430 S.aureus were identified from 2373 specimens,with a positive rate of 18.12%.Resistant to penicillin was found in 90% of tests.The isolated S.aureus was also resistant(6.28%) to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus(MRSA).The first stage identified higher rate of MRSA than the second stage(4.28% vs.9.25%,P=0.037).Isolates from children living in cities were more likely to be resistant to cefoxitin than isolates from children living in countryside(14.74% vs.2.56%,P=0.006) in the second stage.We did not find vancomycin-resistant S.aureus.Conclusion Nasal carriage of S.aureus among healthy children in Chengdu is common and the nasal carried S.aureus is highly resistant to commonly used antibiotics.