Editing Staphylococcus aureus (section)

== Carriage ==

About 33%  of the U.S. population are carriers of ''S. aureus'' and about 2% carry [[MRSA]].<ref name=CDC-CAMRSA>{{cite web|title=General Information: Community acquired MRSA|url=https://www.cdc.gov/mrsa/community/index.html|publisher=CDC|date=25 March 2016}}</ref> Even healthcare providers can be MRSA colonizers.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Latha T, Bhat, Hande M, Mukhopadyay C, Devi ES, Nayak B | title = Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus carriage among health-care professionals of a tertiary care hospital. | journal = Asian J Pharm Clin Res | date = 2018 | volume = 11 | issue = 3 | pages = 346–9 | doi = 10.22159/ajpcr.2018.v11i3.23151 | doi-access = free }}</ref>

The carriage of ''S. aureus'' is an important source of [[hospital-acquired infection]] (also called nosocomial) and community-acquired MRSA.  Although ''S. aureus'' can be present on the skin of the host, a large proportion of its carriage is through the anterior nares of the nasal passages<ref name="pmid9227864" /> and can further be present in the ears.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Campos A, Arias A, Betancor L, Rodríguez C, Hernández AM, López Aguado D, Sierra A | title = Study of common aerobic flora of human cerumen | journal = The Journal of Laryngology and Otology | volume = 112 | issue = 7 | pages = 613–6 | date = July 1998 | pmid = 9775288 | doi = 10.1017/s002221510014126x | s2cid = 29362695 }}</ref> The ability of the nasal passages to harbour  ''S. aureus'' results from a combination of a weakened or defective host immunity and the bacterium's ability to evade host innate immunity.<ref name="PMC2265977">{{cite journal | vauthors = Quinn GA, Cole AM | title = Suppression of innate immunity by a nasal carriage strain of ''Staphylococcus aureus'' increases its colonization on nasal epithelium | journal = Immunology | volume = 122 | issue = 1 | pages = 80–89 | date = September 2007 | pmid = 17472720 | pmc = 2265977 | doi = 10.1111/j.1365-2567.2007.02615.x }}</ref> Nasal carriage is also implicated in the occurrence of staph infections.<ref name=Wertheim2005>{{cite journal | vauthors = Wertheim HF, Melles DC, Vos MC, van Leeuwen W, van Belkum A, Verbrugh HA, Nouwen JL | title = The role of nasal carriage in ''Staphylococcus aureus'' infections | journal = The Lancet. Infectious Diseases | volume = 5 | issue = 12 | pages = 751–762 | date = December 2005 | pmid = 16310147 | doi = 10.1016/S1473-3099(05)70295-4 }}</ref>