Abstract

Methicillin-resistant S. aureus emerged in recent decades to become a leading cause of infection worldwide. Colonization with MRSA predisposes to infection and facilitates transmission of the pathogen; however, available regimens are ineffective at preventing MRSA colonization. Studies of human nasal flora suggest that resident bacteria play a critical role in limiting S. aureus growth, and prompted us to query whether application of commensal resident bacteria could prevent nasal colonization with MRSA. We established a murine model system to study this question, and showed that mice nasally pre-colonized with S. epidermidis became more resistant to colonization with MRSA. Our study suggests that application of commensal bacteria with antibiotics could represent a more effective strategy to prevent MRSA colonization.

Highlights

  • Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) colonization poses a major public health problem because it predisposes colonized individuals to infection and facilitates spread of the pathogen to close contacts [1]

  • Establishment of the murine experimental model To determine whether application of commensal bacteria could prevent nasal colonization of mice with MRSA, we first tested a number of candidate strains for intranasal survival

  • We reasoned that bacteria that could compete successfully against MRSA must first colonize the nose at high concentration

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Summary

Introduction

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) colonization poses a major public health problem because it predisposes colonized individuals to infection and facilitates spread of the pathogen to close contacts [1]. Attempts to address this problem have led to the widespread practice of MRSA decolonization both in healthcare-settings and in the community [1]. As a number of studies have suggested, standard regimens prescribed by most physicians do not prevent colonization of patients [2]. Based on studies of available regimens, currently there is no effective solution to prevent MRSA colonization

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