Staphylococcus aureus is a common finding on human and animal skin/hair/fomites, as well as the nasal passages/throat.
Coagulase-positive strains are associated directly with human disease and are often resistant to multiple antibiotics.
These strains produce enterotoxins which cause the typical clinical picture of staphylococcal food poisoning.
Foodstuffs are usually contaminated by direct handling or by sneezes/coughs.
The enterotoxin is heat-stable, so that it is not destroyed by cooking.
Onset of GI symptoms is within 8 hours of consuming contaminated food, sometimes as quickly as 30 minutes.
About 25-30% of the population are permanent carriers and a similar proportion never seem to carry these strains.
The remainder have intermittent carriage which clears spontaneously.
Antibiotic treatment, including creams for the nose and ears, can reduce carriage rates.
However, the permanent carriers seem to recolonise rapidly, probably by re-innoculation from their home environment.
Topical antiseptics seem effective without producing resistance, but can be hard on the skin.
It has been a while since I worked in the food industry or in microbiology, so I'll refrain from giving advice that might be out of date.
But hopefully, the above helps your understanding and gives you a starting point for developing a rationale for managing the problem.
Dr Trevor Maze
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