M. Hatakka et al., Genotypes and enterotoxicity of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from the hands and nasal cavities of flight-catering employees, J FOOD PROT, 63(11), 2000, pp. 1487-1491
Hand and nasal samples of flight-catering staff were collected from 1995 to
1997 to find employees carrying Staphylococcus aureus. Altogether 153 hand
samples and 136 nose samples were taken. Nasal sampling showed a higher pr
evalence of S, aureus among food handlers (29%) than hand sampling (9%). A
high proportion of the strains (46%) were enterotoxigenic, and a considerab
le amount of food handlers carried enterotoxigenic S. aureus, 6% and 12% ac
cording to hand and nasal sampling, respectively. Pulsed-field gel electrop
horesis macrorestriction profiles revealed a total of 32 different types as
sociated with the 35 employees carrying S. aureus. In most cases, the same
type colonized both the hand and nose of a person. Despite the wide variety
of types found, one strain colonized five persons and the second most comm
on strain was associated with four food handlers. The predominant toxin pro
duced was B, which was produced by the most common strain. The results show
ed that nasal sampling is a good way to detect S. aureus carriers, whereas
hand sampling may fail to reveal carriers. The high proportion of enterotox
igenic strains show that a food handler harboring S. aureus must be conside
red a potential source of enterotoxigenic strains for airline meals.