Hair follicles as a niche of Staphylococcus aureus in the nose; is a more effective decolonisation strategy needed?

Staphylococcus aureus is the major cause of surgical site infections, and meticillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) is increasingly accounting for infections worldwide. Preventing surgical site infections by screening and decolonising positive patients reduces the number of infections, but does not completely eradicate the risk. A balance between prevention, costs and the chance of mupirocin-resistant S. aureus needs to be evaluated and decolonisation strategies optimised. It is essential to know the site of S. aureus during colonisation. In this study, for the first time the exact location of S. aureus in the human nose was determined using a histological approach. We showed the presence of S. aureus in the cornified layer of squamous epithelium, associated keratin and mucous debris and within hair follicles in the vestibulum nasi. The presence of S. aureus in hair follicles suggests that this could be the niche from which relapses occur after decolonisation. Decolonisation strategies might have to be reconsidered. (C) 2010 The Hospital Infection Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.