They are taking in compromised patients, potentially provide a medium of transfer, and periodically feed colonised or infected patients back into the hospital system. In the hospital setting, transfer of MRSA is usually effected by staff - either directly or via fomites. Actual carriage-rates in staff are pretty low. Infected patients are managed with disinfectant baths, mupirocin ointment for nasal carriage and systemic antibiotics, often vancomycin or teicoplanin, with the former being the first choice. If cases continue to arise, staff are screened and carriers relieved of their duties until cleared.
New cases are cohort-nursed.
In the community context, clearance of colonisation is a problem. To develop more efficient laboratory diagnostic tests, with particular emphasis on extending salivary testing to cover Parvovirus B19 and Human Herpes Virus type 6. To estimate children's loss of school time and parents' loss of work time due to these infections. The subjects are, we hope, to be 600 children aged between 3 months and 15 years and presenting within 30 days of the onset of a fever with a morbilliform rash - these to be recruited over a year. Take two sets of specimens, one at presentation and one seven days later.