Benzyl alcohol and ethanol can enhance the pathogenic potential of clinical Staphylococcus epidermidis strains.

This study used polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis to investigate the prevalence of ica locus in a collection of 169 commensal and clinical S epidermidis strains. It was found that ica-positive but biofilm-negative or low-grade biofilm-positive S epidermidis strains displayed induction or increase in biofilm production after incubation in media supplemented with both ethanol and benzyl alcohol. The expression of the icaADBC operon was up-regulated in the presence of alcohol. Results suggest that biofilm production and, therefore, the pathogen potential of S epidermidis can be induced by alcohol. American Journal of Infection Control. 2008;36(8):552-8.