Purpose:
To determine the prevalence of methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus
(MRSA) in
apparently healthy residents of Ekosodin community, a peri-urban settlement, in Benin City, Nigeria.
Method:
Nasal swabs collected from 200 randomly selected individuals, aged between 16 and 38
years, were used in the study. Isolates from the swabs were aseptically collected and characterized
using standard and established microbiological methods, which included growth and fermentation on
mannitol salt agar (MSA), colonial morphology, Gram-staining reaction and biochemical tests.
Antimicrobial susceptibility test was performed on Mueller-Hinton agar (MHA) by modified Kirby-Bauer
disc diffusion method.
Results:
S. aureus was isolated in 49.5 % (n = 99) of the 200 nasal swabs. Among these isolates, 43 %
were from male residents and 22.2 % (n = 22) were MRSA. The MRSA isolates indicated relatively high
rate of resistance to penicillins, moderate resistance to erythromycin and cefuroxime, and least
resistance to gentamicin, streptomycin, ceftriaxone, ciprofloxacin and co-trimoxazole. There was no
significant gender difference in terms of the colonization of
S. aureus (p < 0.05).
Conclusion:
Many apparently healthy residents of Ekosodin community are nasal carriers of MSRA.
The need for rational chemotherapy, routine detection and regular surveillance of MRSA to limit its
spread and reduce treatment failures is vital.
