Public computer surfaces are reservoirs for methicillin-resistant staphylococci.
ISME J. 2007 Jul
Kassem II, Sigler V, Esseili MA.1Laboratory for Microbial Ecology, Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, USA.
The role of computer keyboards used by students of a metropolitan university as reservoirs of antibiotic-resistant staphylococci was determined. Putative methicillin (oxacillin)-resistant staphylococci isolates were identified from keyboard swabs following a combination of biochemical and genetic analyses. Of 24 keyboards surveyed, 17 were contaminated with staphylococci that grew in the presence of oxacillin (2 mg l(-1)). Methicillin (oxacillin)-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), -S. epidermidis (MRSE) and -S. hominis (MRSH) were present on two, five and two keyboards, respectively, while all three staphylococci co-contaminated one keyboard. Furthermore, these were found to be part of a greater community of oxacillin-resistant bacteria. Combined with the broad user base common to public computers, the presence of antibiotic-resistant staphylococci on keyboard surfaces might impact the transmission and prevalence of pathogens throughout the community.The ISME Journal (2007) 1, 265-268; doi:10.1038/ismej.2007.36; published online 31 May 2007.
PMID: 18043636 [PubMed - in process]
