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Hi I work in the food industry. Our staff are hand swabbed randomly by our technical team ( food safety) not OH. If someone fails they are taken out of direct food production and put in a low risk role. They are initially advised on hand washing and using hand sanitiser and this often removes the problem. If they continue to be swabbed as positive they are referred to their GP for antibiotics as required. Unfortunately if they continue to swab positive they cannot go back into a high risk role. Kind regards Mandy Thomas OH Manager Greencore FTG, Northampton -----Original Message----- From: [log in to unmask] [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Trevor Maze Sent: 07 February 2019 12:43 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [OCC-HEALTH] Request for assitance-Coagulase Positive Staphylococci. **IMPORTANT - This email originated outside of Greencore, please show caution when responding. ________________________________ 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been a while since I worked in the food industry or in microbiology, so I'll refrain from giving advice that might be out of date.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 ******************************** Please remove this footer before replying. OCC-HEALTH ARCHIVES: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/occ-health.html CONFERENCES AND STUDY DAYS: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/filearea.cgi?LMGT1=OCC-HEALTH Greencore Food to Go - Northampton Registered as Greencore Food to Go Ltd Greencore Group, UK Centre, Midland Way, Barlborough Links Business Park. Barlborough, Chesterfield, S43 4XA. Registered No.(Country) 0721411 England & Wales Vat No. GB 137 6010 90 This e-mail message and any files attached to it are confidential and may also be legally privileged. If you are not the addressee indicated in the message, you are not authorised to copy, disclose, distribute or otherwise use the information in this e-mail. If you have received this e-mail in error please notify the sender by reply and delete it from your system. There are risks in communicating via e-mail; e-mail may be susceptible to data corruption, delay, interception and unauthorised amendment; we do not accept liability for any such corruption, delay, interception or amendment or the consequences thereof. Although steps have been taken to ensure that this e-mail and any files attached are free from any viruses, it is advised that the recipient should ensure that they are virus free. Please note that any views, opinions or advice expressed in this message are those of the sending individual and not necessarily those of the Company. Thank you. ******************************** Please remove this footer before replying. OCC-HEALTH ARCHIVES: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/occ-health.html CONFERENCES AND STUDY DAYS: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/filearea.cgi?LMGT1=OCC-HEALTH