Prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus among students at York College of Pennsylvania Chad Taylor Department of Biological Sciences, York College of Pennsylvania Abstract Introduction Staphylococci is one of the most common and infectious pathogens among humans. Staph-related illnesses can range from mild and requiring no treatment to severe andpotentially fatal. Over 30 different types of Staphylococci can infect humans but most infections are from Staphylococcus aureus (Stoppler M. 2007). Because its primary habitat is moist squamous epithelium of the anterior nares, most invasive Staphylococcus aureus infections are assumed to originate from nasal carriage. The incidences of community and hospital-acquired infections have been rising and a variety of studies have examined the prevalence of nasal carriage in diverse sub- populations. Carriage rates among certain groups range from 20-45%, however, the prevalence of nasal carriage of S auerus for the general U.S population is determined to be 32.4% (Mainous A et.al 2006). Objectives To determine the prevalence of S.aureus among 102 students at York College of Pennsylvania. To determine if gender, healthcare- affiliation, and athletic activity has an effect. To compare the determined prevalence to the estimated general U.S population value of 32.4%. Methods Sample Collection nasal swabs were collected from 102 microbiology students and placed in broth tubes samples were incubated for 48 hours at 37*C Salt-mannitol test samples were applied to salt-mannitol agar two day incubation at room temperature yellow colonies indicated a positive reaction Coagulase Test positives from salt-mannitol agar were tested for coagulase using bacti-staph test agglutination indicated a positive reaction. Results 27 out of 102 students tested positive (26.5%) 21 out of 77 females tested positive (27.3%) 6 out of 25 males tested positive (24%) 13 out of 51 students involved in athletics tested positive (25.5%) 5 out of 25 students associated with healthcare tested positive (25%( 3 out of 7 students involved in both athletics and healthcare tested positive (42.9%) Literature Cited Acknowledgements Dr.Mathur,mentor Mrs. Taylor Dr. Rehnberg Discussion There was not a significant difference in nasal carriage rates between tested students and the general U.S population rate of 32.4%. The set of students involved in both healthcare and athletics acquired a carriage rate of 42.9% and was the only group that received a rate higher than 32.4%. However, a larger sample size would be required to suggest a significant difference to indicate risk factors for nasal carriage of S. aureus. The purpose of this experiment was to compare the S.aureus nasal carriage rates among York College students to the estimated U.S general population rate of 32.4% and see if student’s gender, healthcare affiliation and athletic activity had an effect. Standard methods such as the salt-mannitol and coagulase tests were used to determine the presence of S.aureus. Results indicated 26.5% of students tested positive and there was not a significant difference from the general U.S population rate. Gender, healthcare-affiliation, and athletic activity did not prove to have any adverse effects in this study. Huang, H., N., King, J., Monchaud, C., Morita, M., and Cohen, S Comparisons of community-associate Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and hospital-associated MRSA infections in Sacramento, California. Journal of Clinical Microbiology Salgado, C., Farr, B., and Calfee, D Community-acquired Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus: A meta-analysis of prevalence and risk factors. Clinical Infectious Diseases Diaz, V., Everett, C., Hueston, W., Mainous, A Nasal Carriage of Staphylococcus aureus and Methicillin-Resistant S aureus in the United States, Annals of Family Medicine