Low prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus colonization among dental students in a teaching hospital in Malaysia

Staphylococcus aureus is an important microorganism which is associated with infections in the hospital setting. It is spread mainly through contaminated hands of the healthcare worker or through the underlying colonization of this microorganism in the nasal cavity of the healthcare worker. Apart from the healthcare worker, medical and dental students also can be source of the transmission because they are also engaged with the patients during their training period. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and risk of S. aureus colonization among dental students. Cross sectional study was conducted in the month of May 2014 involving a total of 205 dental students (104 pre-clinical years and 101 clinical years) from School of Dental Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia. The questionnaires were distributed and nasal swabs were collected. A total of 205 dental students participated in this study which comprises 50.7% pre-clinical year and 49.3% clinical year students. Their age ranged from 20 to 26 years old, with a mean (standard deviation) of 22.29 (1.73) years. The male to female ratio was 1:2.5. Eighteen percent of dental students had S. aureus colonized in their nasal cavity. No colonization of Methicillin resistant S. aureus strain was found in their nasal cavity. A carriage of S. aureus was significantly associated with the presence of health care worker among their family member. Healthcare worker may acquire S. aureus from the hospital, colonized in their nasal cavity and spread it to other family members via inhalation and close contact, however further study on this area is recommended to find out their relationship. S. aureus carrier among dental students worth screening to look whether the carry resistant strain i.e. MRSA to prevent spread to other patients. This is because they also involved in the clinical management during their clinical year study.