Abstract
Introduction. Emergence of MRSA infections among previously healthy persons in community settings (without exposure to health care facilities) has been noted recently. MRSA infections are now classified as health care-associated MRSA (HA-MRSA) and community-associated MRSA (CA-MRSA) infections. Its colonization is an important risk factor for subsequent MRSA infection. Aims and Objectives. The aim was to screen patients and health care workers for staphylococcal carriage, identify risk factors for MRSA colonization, and determine the sensitivity pattern. Materials and Methods. A total of 200 subjects were screened for nasal carriage after obtaining verbal consent. These were both healthy subjects attending various outpatient departments and health care workers. Specimens were collected from the anterior nares using premoistened sterile cotton swabs and inoculated onto blood agar and mannitol salt agar and incubated at 37°C for 24–48 h. Results. Staphylococcus aureus colonisation was found to be 12% (n = 24). MRSA was identified in 5% (n = 10) which represents 41.66% of SA. A total of 10 strains of MRSA were isolated from 200 subjects, giving an overall positivity rate of 5%. Discussion. Staphylococcal colonization was found to be 12% (MRSA 5%). Fluoroquinolone resistance was remarkable whereas all strains were sensitive to vancomycin, teicoplanin, linezolid, quinupristin-dalfopristin.
Highlights
Emergence of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections among previously healthy persons in community settings has been noted recently
MRSA infections are classified as health care-associated MRSA (HA-MRSA) infections and community-associated MRSA (CA-MRSA) infections [3]
The present study showed that the rate of S. aureus nasal carriage was found to be 12% (24/200) and MRSA nasal carriage prevalence was found to be 5% (10/200)
Summary
Emergence of MRSA infections among previously healthy persons in community settings (without exposure to health care facilities) has been noted recently. The aim was to screen patients and health care workers for staphylococcal carriage, identify risk factors for MRSA colonization, and determine the sensitivity pattern. Active surveillance for patients colonized with methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is recommended to prevent MRSA infections in health care settings [7, 12]. Several studies have reported the prevalence of MRSA nasal carriage in patients in health care settings [13, 14], this subject has been little investigated in healthy individuals in the broader community [15]. The objectives of the present study were to screen patients and health care workers for MRSA carriage, to identify risk factors for MRSA colonization, and to determine their resistance pattern. CA-MRSA is responsible for around 30 percent of S. aureus infections in hospitals of USA [16]
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