Clarifying the transmission route of Staphylococcus aureus colonizing the skin in early childhood atopic dermatitis

As with the anterior nares, the subungual spaces are important reservoir of skin-colonizing S aureus in early childhood AD. The transmission route for self-contamination or recolonization of S aureus appears to be from children's anterior nares to the skin through their own fingers. Child-to-child and/or teacher-to-child transmission in a classroom do not seem to be definite routes of S aureus transmission.