Volume 16, Number 5—May 2010
Research
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Carriage and Risk Factors for Skin Infections, Southwestern Alaska, USA
A. Michal Stevens, Thomas W. Hennessy
, Henry C. Baggett, Dana Bruden, Debbie Parks, and Joseph Klejka
, Henry C. Baggett, Dana Bruden, Debbie Parks, and Joseph KlejkaTable 1
Characterization of study participants by Staphylococcus aureus carriage group, Alaska, 2000*
| Characteristic | MRSA carriers, n = 41 | MSSA carriers, n = 85 | Non–S. aureus carriers, n = 190 | Total, n = 316 | p value† |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male sex | 23 (56.1) | 40 (47.1) | 94 (49.5) | 157 (49.7) | 0.6 |
| Median age, y (range) |
13 (0–77) |
16 (1–73) |
22 (0–85) |
18 (0–85) |
|
| Age group, y | |||||
| <5 | 10 (24.4) | 17 (20.0) | 29 (15.3) | 56 (17.7) | 0.0456 |
| 5–19 | 15 (36.6) | 35 (41.2) | 57 (30.0) | 107 (33.9) | |
| 20–39 | 9 (22.0) | 20 (23.5) | 60 (31.6) | 89 (28.2) | |
| 40–64 | 6 (14.6) | 9 (10.6) | 32 (16.8) | 47 (14.9) | |
| >64 |
1 (2.4) |
4 (4.7) |
12 (6.3) |
17 (5.4) |
|
| Household member nasal carriage status | |||||
| >1 MRSA+ | 32 (78.0) | 25 (29.4) | 32 (16.8) | 89 (28.2) | <0.0001 |
*Values are no. (%) except as indicated. MRSA, methicillin-resistant S. aureus; MSSA, methicillin-susceptible S. aureus.
†χ2 tests were used to detect differences in carriage groups by sex and household member status; nonparametric 1-way analysis of variance software (SAS Institute, Cary, NC, USA) was used to detect differences in carriage groups by age.
