Prevalence of Staphylococcus succinus and Staphylococcus equorum in Nasal Swab Isolates

Abstract

Staphylococcus equorum and Staphylococcus succinus are bacterial species commonly associated with livestock and certain food products. Human infection as a result of these species is rarely reported and there are currently no reports citing these species as components of the normal human flora. During the summer of 2010, nasal swabs were taken from volunteers at various hospitals and communities in Ecuador. Bacteria isolated from these samples were initially characterized using cultural methods. Isolates that were mannitol fermenters and oxacillin sensitive were further characterized using multiplex PCR and XapI restriction fragment length polymorphisms of the dnaJ gene. Approximately 17% of samples analyzed thus far contain either S. succinus or S. equorum. These preliminary data suggest that these species can at least be transient members of the human nasal flora and can possibly be established as a more stable component.