1996 Volume 59 Issue 3 Pages 272-273
We examined the pathogenicity of 75 methicillin-resistant, coagulase-negative staphylococci (MRCNS) from the nasal cavities of the medical staff at Osaka Dental University Hospital. Seventy-five MRCNS were tested for the production of hydrolytic enzymes and rapid identification was attempted using N-ID TEST・SP-18. The distribution of lecithinase, lipase and β-lactamase producers was 28, 28 and 13%, respectivery. However, none of the MRCNS strains produced DNase, hyaluronidase, chondroitin sulfatase, collagenase, trypsin or chymotrypsin. A signification number of MRCNS strains were rapidly identified as Staphylococcus epidermidis (94%). More than half of these strains produced no enzyme. These results indicate that many strains of MRCNS isolated from the nasal cavities of the medical staff were hydrolytic enzyme-inactive Staphylococcus epidermidis.
