Identification of carriers of Staphylococcus aureus from KSMA students

Introduction
During the first week of life, 90% of infants are the nasal carriers of S. aureus. In the first 2 years of life among only 20% of children it is founded Staphylococcus aureus in nasal cavity, and by 6.4 years they have been found in 30-50%.
Among the medical staff the nasal carriers of Staphylococcus aureus can reach 35%. The persistence of S. aureus in medical personnel contributes to the spread of these microorganisms in the environment. The aim of the study was to determine the percentage of Staphylococcus aureus carriage among students.

Methods
The study was conducted on the basis of the microbiology laboratory of KSMA. The carriage of Staphylococcus aureus determined among the students. The study included 996 strains isolated from students during the 2002-2006 years. The material of present research was nasopharyngeal swab. The allocation of pure cultures used conventional scheme. The identification was carried out using Bergey 1.0 program. The statistical processing was carried out using WhoNet 5.0 program.

Results
The percentage of carriers of S.aureus averaged 37.22%: for students of the 1 and 2 courses – 16.34%, for students of 3 and 4 courses – 67,21%, and for advanced students – 16,46%. 
The retrospective analysis of S. aureus carriage in Karaganda for 1964 – 1965 till 2006 year showed the reduction of percentage of bacteria among students in 2003-2005 (in 1,6 times). For example, in 1964-1965, the level of carriage in medical students and schools respectively equaled 59,0% and 39,0% . This is due with the improvement of hygiene norms in hospitals. As in 1964-1965, in 2003-2005 the percentage of carrier increased in the spring and autumn months.

Discussion
The study revealed high percentage (37.22%) carriers of S.aureus among the students of KSMA. The greatest number of staph carriers falls on the students of the 3–4 courses (67.21%).