Association Between Contact Sports and Colonization with Staphylococcus aureus in a Prospective Cohort of Collegiate Athletes

Objective Athletes have a higher risk of infection with Staphylococcus aureus than the general population. Most studies in athletes have included primarily male contact sports participants and have not assessed S. aureus carriage over time. We aimed to examine the epidemiology and risk factors of S. aureus carriage in a cohort of male and female collegiate athletes.