Photo by V. Miller
June 29, 2005
Bacteria in Hospitals
MRSA: A Community Pathogen?
Anton H. Schraut, 13, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Finalist, Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge, 2004
Project background: When Anton accompanied his father, a physician, on hospital rounds, he noticed several patients isolated for MRSA—an antibiotic-resistant strain of Staphylococcus aureus. He wanted to find out if the dangerous bacteria were limited to hospitals or if individuals in the general population served as carriers.
Tactics and results: Anton swabbed the noses of 27 schoolchildren and faculty and 10 microbiology technicians. He cultured the samples for 3 days and tested them for the presence of S. aureus. He subjected the positive samples to a methicillin sensitivity test, to identify any antibiotic-resistant strains.
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| Photo by V. Miller |
Anton discovered that, while most of his volunteers carried S. aureus, only one, a laboratory technician, carried an antibiotic-resistant strain. He concluded that MRSA is localized to hospitals and is not a wider community problem.
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