Nasal carriage and antibiotic susceptibility of Staphylococcus aureus in general practice

The incidence of nasal carriage of Staphylococcus aureus and the in vitro susceptibility of isolates to fusidic acid, penicillin, erythromycin, methicillin and tetracycline was determined in 204 patients who had been treated previously with a short course of a topical preparation of Fucidin for acute skin sepsis, and in an equal number of control subjects. Staphylococcus aureus was isolated from 36 per cent and 34 per cent of patients in the Fucidin and control groups respectively. Only one of the 144 isolates was resistant to fusidic acid. Short, single courses of topical therapy in general practice are unlikely to be epidemiologically hazardous in the long term. Evidence of possible cross-infection in general practice was obtained.