Prevalencia de staphylococcus aureus en manipuladores de alimentos de una universidad de la región metropolitana / Prevalence of staphylococcus aureus in food handlers at a university of the metropolitan region

Nose, throat,hands and nail samples from 87 food handlers were obtained for microbiological examination. Fifty seven subjects (65.5 percent) were carriers of staphylococcus aureus. Enterotoxigenic staphylococcus aureus was found in 36 subjects (41 percent). The most frequently found enterotoxin was type B (18 samples) followed by type D (12 samples). Men had a higher frequency of contamination than women (83 and 57 percent of positive samples respectively). In conclusion, the frequency of staphylococcus aureus contamination among food handlers is high and shoud prompt personal and environmental hygienic measures