Nasal carriage of enterotoxin-producingStaphylococcus aureusamong restaurant workers in Kuwait City

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Abstract
SUMMARY: Enterotoxin-producingStaphylococcus aureusis a common cause of staphylococcal food poisoning. To determine the incidence of carriage of enterotoxin-producingS. aureusin a sample of the healthy population in Kuwait city, restaurant workers in the city were screened for nasal carriage ofS. aureus. 26·6% of 500 workers studied carriedS. aureusand 86·6% of theS. aureusproduced staphylococcal enterotoxins. 28 % produced enterotoxin A, 28·5 % produced enterotoxin B, 16·4% produced enterotoxin C and 3·5% produced enterotoxin D. Ten isolates produced both enterotoxins A and B or A and C. 73 % of the isolates were untypeable with standard phages. However, 17·1%, 3% and 6% belonged to phage groups I, II and III respectively. The results demonstrated a high level of enterotoxigenicS. aureuscarriage among restaurant workers which although lower than that reported for the general population and hospital workers may be important in the restaurant industry.