start-ver=1.4 cd-journal=joma no-vol=22 cd-vols= no-issue=6 article-no= start-page=1679 end-page=1683 dt-received= dt-revised= dt-accepted= dt-pub-year=2014 dt-pub=201406 dt-online= en-article= kn-article= en-subject= kn-subject= en-title= kn-title=Distribution of oral mucosal bacteria with mecA in patients undergoing hematopoietic cell transplantation en-subtitle= kn-subtitle= en-abstract= kn-abstract=[Purpose] We recently reported frequent detection of antibiotic-resistant bacteria on the oral mucosa during the period of hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) and suggested an association between oral mucositis and antibiotic-resistant bacterial infection. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus spp. were frequently detected, and the oral cavity may be a reservoir of the gene mediating methicillin resistance, mecA. Here, we examined the frequency of mecA carriers in patients undergoing HCT. [Methods] Fifty-nine patients (male (M)?=?37, female (F)?=?22, 47.3?}?11.0 years) receiving HCT were enrolled in this study. Buccal swab samples were obtained four times from day ?7 to day +20 (once/week), and mecA was detected by PCR. Fifty-two subjects without systemic disease, who completed dental treatment, especially periodontal treatment (M?=?21, F?=?31, 55.4?}?14.2 years), were also enrolled as controls and checked for mecA on the oral mucosa. [Results] Seventy-six percent (45/59) of the HCT patients carried mecA at least once in the study period (days ?7 to +20), while no control subjects had mecA. The frequency of mecA carriers was 19.2 % from days ?7 to ?1, while it was significantly increased on days +7 to +13 and +14 to +20, with frequencies of 60.9 and 63.2 %, respectively (P?