Author(s): Oliveira, Ketlyn ; Viegas, Carla ; Ribeiro, Edna
Date: 2022
Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10362/141511
Origin: Repositório Institucional da UNL
Subject(s): MRSA; occupational exposure; one health approach; Environmental Science (miscellaneous); SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
Funding: This research was supported by Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal, by funding the Projects “Occupational exposure of ambulance drivers to bioburden” (IPL/2020/BIOAmbuDrivers_ESTeSL) and “Bacterial Bioburden assessment in the context of occupational exposure and animal health of swine productions” (IPL/2016/BBIOR-Health).
Staphylococcus aureus and particularly methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) infections are currently associated with extremely high morbidity and mortality rates worldwide. The global esca-lation in the development of antibiotic-resistant human pathogens and S. aureus ability in developing new clones with the capacity to invade community settings, leads to an urgent need to develop accurate and efficient assessments of S. aureus colonization in occupational settings, particularly those with increased risk of human and animal colonization and food contamination. Here we present cross-sectional studies with the aim to assemble crucial information regarding MRSA prevalence in workers from five different Portuguese occupational environments (bakeries, swineries (humans and animals), ambulance crews, veterinary clinics and healthcare facilities). Our data demonstrated high prevalence of S. aureus asymptomatic carriers among bakery workers (40%; 75% MSSA and 25% MRSA), swinery workers (54%; 8% MSSA and 46% MRSA), firefighters (48.5%; 24% MSSA and 21% MRSA) and healthcare workers (Study 1: 42.2%; 18.4% MSSA and 23.7% MRSA, Study 2: 43.3% MRSA). S. aureus prevalence in veterinary staff was 7.1% (MSSA), lower than the results obtained in control groups (33.3% S. aureus; MRSA 4% to 10%). The present study sustains the urge to develop accurate and efficient assessment of S. aureus human and animal colonization, particularly in high risk occupational settings, with proper guidelines and validated procedures in order to avoid potential hazardous health outcomes associated with bioaerosol exposure and associated infectious diseases.
