Nasal Carriage Rate of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) among Civil Hospital Health care workers

Context: Staphylococcus aureus is a common cause of community and hospital acquired infections. One of the important sources of nosocomial infection is staphylococcus, present in nasal carriage among hospital personnel. Emergence of drug resistant strains especially methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a serious problem in hospital environments. Aims: To isolate Staphylococcus aureus from the nasal swabs of healthcare workers (HCWs) and to study their antimicrobial susceptibility including methicillin resistance pattern. Settings and Design: A hospital based prospective study. Methods and Material: A total of 150 HCWs who were involved in the management of critically ill patients from the intensive care unit, Operation Theatre (OT) and postoperative wards were screened for MRSA by collecting their nasal swabs .All the samples were collected by trained second year MBBS student of the same institute. S. aureus was identified by standard methods. Antibiotic susceptibility test was performed by modified Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method. MRSA was identified by using a cefoxitin 30 mcg disc and it was interpreted according to the CLSI guidelines. Statistical analysis used: The findings were statistically analyzed by using the Chi-square test. Results: Out of 150 healthcare workers, 33 (22%) were nasal carriers of S. aureus and among them 9 (27.2%) were carrier of MRSA. Overall nasal carriage rate of MRSA was 6 % (9/150).Highest MRSA carriage rate of 6.5% (3/46) was found among doctors. The antibiogram of the MRSA isolates revealed that resistance to Amoxiclav (100%), Erythromycin (45%) and Gentamycin (40%). All the MRSA isolates were sensitive to Linezolid (100%) and vancomycin (100%). Conclusions: Screening and decolonization may be effective in decreasing the MRSA carriage rate among the HCWs. Standard infection control precautions should be employed in the professional practice to minimize either the carriage or the transmission rate.