PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Michelle IA Rijnders
AU  - Sita Nys
AU  - Christel Driessen
AU  - Christian JPA Hoebe
AU  - Rogier M Hopstaken
AU  - Guy J Oudhuis
AU  - Arno Timmermans
AU  - Ellen E Stobberingh
TI  - <em>Staphylococcus aureus</em> carriage among GPs in the Netherlands
AID  - 10.3399/bjgp10X544078
DP  - 2010 Dec 01
TA  - British Journal of General Practice
PG  - 902--906
VI  - 60
IP  - 581
4099  - http://bjgp.org/content/60/581/902.short
4100  - http://bjgp.org/content/60/581/902.full
SO  - Br J Gen Pract2010 Dec 01; 60
AB  - Background The extent to which GPs serve as a reservoir for antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is unknown and not well studied.Aim To determine the prevalence of nasal S. aureus carriage among GPs in the Netherlands, as well as the antimicrobial resistance and the genotypes of isolated S. aureus.Design of study Observational, point-prevalence, and cross-sectional study.Setting GPs attending the annual conference of the Dutch College of General Practitioners in 2006.Method Nasal swabs were randomly taken from 395 GPs and analysed for the presence of S. aureus. Antimicrobial susceptibility was determined by a microbroth dilution method and the genotypes by spa typing, which was associated with multilocus sequence typing.Results Of the GPs, 129/395 (33%; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 28 to 37%) were carriers of S. aureus. No meticillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) was found. Resistance was observed to penicillin (71%; 95% CI = 63 to 79%), fusidic acid (7%; 95% CI = 3 to 13%), and clarithromycin (6%; 95% CI = 3 to 12%). In 72% of the isolates, an MRSA-related genotype of S. aureus was found.Conclusion The low antibiotic resistance found among S. aureus of GPs suggests that GPs are not a reservoir of antibiotic-resistant S. aureus strains. The relatively high resistance to fusidic acid, which has not previously been described in the Netherlands and is mostly because of antibiotic use, suggests that patients infect GPs and not the other way round. GPs may be at risk for nasal carriage of S. aureus with an MRSA-related genotype.