The role of environmental enrichment in a Staphylococcus aureus abscess outbreak in a mouse breeding colony

Staphylococcus aureus colonises the skin, nasopharynx and intestines, and may cause pyogenic infections if a breach in local defences promotes staphylococcal invasion. Mandibulofacial and maxillofacial abscesses have previously been attributed to mastication and fragmentation of hair ingested during the barbering process. Here I report an observational retrospective study of an abscess outbreak in a mouse-breeding colony due to oral mucosa damage by plastic sharp edges of environmental enrichment.