Staphylococcal nasal carriage in medical students with varying clinical exposure

Nasal carriage and antibiotic sensitivities of coagulase-positive and coagulase-negative staphylococci were assessed among medical students of three different years. Although carriage rates did not change, there was a trend towards multiple resistance with increasing hospital exposure. Gentamicin resistance in Staphylococcus albus showed a similar trend. The relevance of these findings to current views on the origin of gentamicin resistance is discussed.