Study: MRSA Common Among Some Dental Students
Study: MRSA Common Among Some Dental Students
Sept. 29, 2011 -- Dental students in a Seattle study had very high rates of colonization with MRSA, the drug-resistant strain of staph, raising new questions about the prevalence of the bacteria outside of hospitals in community health care settings.
People who are colonized with MRSA carry the bacteria in their nose or on their skin, but they may or may not have signs or symptoms of infection. They can spread MRSA to others, however.
Nasal swabs from one in five University of Washington (UAW) Dental School students tested showed evidence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, and four of seven dental clinics at the school also tested positive for the bacteria in samples taken from dental chairs and floors.
The rate of MRSA colonization was significantly higher than that reported in the general population and in other non-hospital medical settings, but an official with the CDC says the public should not be overly alarmed by the findings.
Arjun Srinivasan, MD, says the high MRSA rate suggests a specific transmission at the UAW facility and is probably not indicative of rates in dental offices in general.
Srinivasan is assistant director for the CDC’s Healthcare-Associated Infection Prevention Program.
“This study is one of the first to look at MRSA in the dental setting, but it was a small study with just 61 dental students in one facility,” Srinivasan tells WebMD. “We don’t believe this study necessarily represents a systematic problem in dental clinics across the country.”
MRSA: How Much Do You Know About This 'Superbug?'
People who are colonized with MRSA carry the bacteria in their nose or on their skin, but they may or may not have signs or symptoms of infection. They can spread MRSA to others, however.
Nasal swabs from one in five University of Washington (UAW) Dental School students tested showed evidence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, and four of seven dental clinics at the school also tested positive for the bacteria in samples taken from dental chairs and floors.
The rate of MRSA colonization was significantly higher than that reported in the general population and in other non-hospital medical settings, but an official with the CDC says the public should not be overly alarmed by the findings.
Arjun Srinivasan, MD, says the high MRSA rate suggests a specific transmission at the UAW facility and is probably not indicative of rates in dental offices in general.
Srinivasan is assistant director for the CDC’s Healthcare-Associated Infection Prevention Program.
“This study is one of the first to look at MRSA in the dental setting, but it was a small study with just 61 dental students in one facility,” Srinivasan tells WebMD. “We don’t believe this study necessarily represents a systematic problem in dental clinics across the country.”
MRSA: How Much Do You Know About This 'Superbug?'
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