ABSTRACT
Bacterial interference has been used successfully in the treatment of patients with recurrent furunculosis. The technique has been one of recolonization rather than colonization. In 1961 during a nursery outbreak of staphylococcal disease, it was noted that colonization of the nasal mucosa or umbilical stump of an infant with Staphylococcus aureus prevented subsequent colonization at the same site by a second strain of S. aureus. The precise mechanism of interference between two staphylococcal strains has been determined in some experimental models. With the present model, mechanisms of bacterial interference, particularly for strain 502A and other S. aureus strains, can be investigated. Although the phenomenon of bacterial interference between strains of S. aureus has been studied by various investigators, the mechanisms are not clear in humans. Mucosal cells from persistent carriers and noncarriers of S. aureus were collected and their affinity for S. aureus adherence was determined.
