Characterization of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus from various clinical samples at tertiary care hospital of rural Gujarat

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Background: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is an established pathogen in most health care facilities. MRSA strains are also important for their resistance to many other commonly used antibiotics. Objectives: To find out prevalence of MRSA strains and coproduction of β-lactamase and antibiotic sensitivity pattern of these strains. Materials and Methods: During the period of September 2009 to December 2010, a total of 200 strains of S. aureus were isolated from various specimens of different patients attending and admitted at C. U. Shah Medical College and Hospital, Surendranagar, Gujarat. Standard procedures were followed for isolation and identification of S. aureus isolates. Antibiotic susceptibility testing and detection of MRSA was done by Kirby Bauer disk diffusion method, as per Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines. The production of β-lactamase was studied by the rapid method using nitrocefin disk. Results: Among 200 isolates of S. aureus, 117 (58.5 %) were methicillin-resistant, of which 110 (94.02%) were found to be multidrug-resistant. Among 117 MRSA strains, 86.59 % were resistant to ciprofloxacin, 81.71% were resistant to cephalexin, 80.49% were resistant to cefaclor and 79.27% were resistant to erythromycin. Vancomycin was the most effective drug as all MRSA isolates were sensitive to it. 93.90% MRSA isolates were sensitive to linezolid and 91.46% were sensitive to teicoplanin. 82.91% MRSA isolates were also co-producers of β-lactamase. Conclusions: The high incidence of MRSA in this hospital warrants for the judicial use of antibiotics and application of infection control measures to avoid therapeutic crisis resulting from multidrug-resistant MRSA. Key Words: MRSA, Staph aureus, Rural Gujarat