Staphylococcal epidemiology in Antarctica
Summary An investigation of staphylococcal epidemiology was undertaken at an Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition station during 1965–1966. It concerned the carriage of staphylococci by the men and their dogs, and the occurrence of staphylococci in the station environment. The year-long...
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Cambridge University Press (CUP)
1970
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022172400028485 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022172400028485 |
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/s0022172400028485 2024-10-06T13:44:19+00:00 Staphylococcal epidemiology in Antarctica Cameron, A. S. 1970 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022172400028485 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022172400028485 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms Journal of Hygiene volume 68, issue 1, page 43-52 ISSN 0022-1724 journal-article 1970 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/s0022172400028485 2024-09-11T04:03:18Z Summary An investigation of staphylococcal epidemiology was undertaken at an Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition station during 1965–1966. It concerned the carriage of staphylococci by the men and their dogs, and the occurrence of staphylococci in the station environment. The year-long study indicated that coagulase-negative strains survived better in the Antarctic environment than coagulase-positive strains. It was demonstrated that naturally acquired coagulase-positive strains could not maintain colonization on forearm skin under the usual cold exposure experienced at Mawson station, though coagulase-negative skin strains appeared to thrive during the winter. Staphylococcus albus and S. aureus were able to persist in the anterior nares, despite the sometimes lower temperatures recorded in this micro-climate, probably because of the greater humidity and denser populations found there. The majority of the nasal carriers of S. aureus were persistent carriers, only two men in 27 being found to be occasional carriers of nasal strains, which was consistent with the observation that transfer of this pathogen from man to man is not common under Antarctic conditions. Half of the 27 sledge dogs at the station were found to carry coagulase-positive staphylococci but this did not appear to be of pathological significance to their human handlers. The local inanimate environment, including mess hut, sleeping huts and sleeping bags used on expeditions, was searched for contamination by S. aureus but none was detected. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Cambridge University Press Antarctic Mawson Station ENVELOPE(62.874,62.874,-67.603,-67.603) Nares ENVELOPE(158.167,158.167,-81.450,-81.450) The Antarctic Journal of Hygiene 68 1 43 52 |
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Cambridge University Press |
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English |
description |
Summary An investigation of staphylococcal epidemiology was undertaken at an Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition station during 1965–1966. It concerned the carriage of staphylococci by the men and their dogs, and the occurrence of staphylococci in the station environment. The year-long study indicated that coagulase-negative strains survived better in the Antarctic environment than coagulase-positive strains. It was demonstrated that naturally acquired coagulase-positive strains could not maintain colonization on forearm skin under the usual cold exposure experienced at Mawson station, though coagulase-negative skin strains appeared to thrive during the winter. Staphylococcus albus and S. aureus were able to persist in the anterior nares, despite the sometimes lower temperatures recorded in this micro-climate, probably because of the greater humidity and denser populations found there. The majority of the nasal carriers of S. aureus were persistent carriers, only two men in 27 being found to be occasional carriers of nasal strains, which was consistent with the observation that transfer of this pathogen from man to man is not common under Antarctic conditions. Half of the 27 sledge dogs at the station were found to carry coagulase-positive staphylococci but this did not appear to be of pathological significance to their human handlers. The local inanimate environment, including mess hut, sleeping huts and sleeping bags used on expeditions, was searched for contamination by S. aureus but none was detected. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Cameron, A. S. |
spellingShingle |
Cameron, A. S. Staphylococcal epidemiology in Antarctica |
author_facet |
Cameron, A. S. |
author_sort |
Cameron, A. S. |
title |
Staphylococcal epidemiology in Antarctica |
title_short |
Staphylococcal epidemiology in Antarctica |
title_full |
Staphylococcal epidemiology in Antarctica |
title_fullStr |
Staphylococcal epidemiology in Antarctica |
title_full_unstemmed |
Staphylococcal epidemiology in Antarctica |
title_sort |
staphylococcal epidemiology in antarctica |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
1970 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022172400028485 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022172400028485 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(62.874,62.874,-67.603,-67.603) ENVELOPE(158.167,158.167,-81.450,-81.450) |
geographic |
Antarctic Mawson Station Nares The Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Mawson Station Nares The Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica |
op_source |
Journal of Hygiene volume 68, issue 1, page 43-52 ISSN 0022-1724 |
op_rights |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0022172400028485 |
container_title |
Journal of Hygiene |
container_volume |
68 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
43 |
op_container_end_page |
52 |
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1812182708081655808 |