Staph Risk Runs In Families

Here is some interesting new findings!

A sibling or first-degree relative who has a history of staph infection, significantly increases a person’s risk for the disease.

The sex, comorbid conditions or direct contamination of the family member does not matter. Results of this study are published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

Over the past few decades the incidence of Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia, or staph infection, has increased with antibiotic resistance adding to the problem. A link between host genetics and staph infection through animal studies has been shown, but human host genetics in general that are associated with the risk for acquiring staph infection is unclear. This knowledge could have implications for influencing future therapeutic interventions and strategies.

Researchers reviewed a national register in Denmark to determine whether a history of S aureus bacteremia in first-degree relatives is associated with an increased risk for microbiological confirmed S aureus bacteremia and found that having a first-degree relative hospitalized with confirmed staph infection significantly increased a person’s risk for the disease. The risk was found to be significantly higher if the infected patient was a sibling rather than if it were a parent.

Researchers feel the results are unlikely to be explained by direct transmission of the pathogen because more than 80% of exposed individuals acquiring staph were infected with a strain genetically different from the infected relative.

The full article, Familial Clustering of Staphylococcus aureus Bacteremia in First-Degree Relatives: A Danish Nationwide Cohort Study was published online July 5, 2016 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
-Dr Fredda Branyon