<b>Evaluation of <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> resistance profile isolated from nursing students in an institution of higher education

Abstract

Staphylococcus aureus causes a large variety of infections, where many of them are acquired in the hospital environment. A significant part of the population is a nasal carrier of this type of microorganism. The present study evaluated the nasal colonization by S. aureus, identifying its resistance profile in nursing students from a private educational institute of higher education. Nasal swab samples were collected and identified for S. aureus. Moreover, an antibiogram assay was performed, followed by the search for ermA and ermC genes using PCR. Sixty-two students were included and we isolated 20 positive samples (32,5%) for S. aureus. For the phenotypic profile, 30% were found to be resistant to Erythromycin and 10% to Oxacillin and Cefoxitin. For the D-test in the genotypic profile, 25% presented mecA gene (MRSA), 5% of ermA gene, 35% of ermC gene and 10% with ermC and mecA genes. These data reinforce the necessity of monitoring bacterial colonization in hospital environment, which are potentially resistant in health professionals.

Incidence of Oxacillin-Susceptible mecA-Positive Staphylococcus aureus (OS-MRSA) Isolates and TSST-1 Virulence Factor Among High School Students in Tabriz, Northwest of Iran

“…In the present study, 18.34% of the S. aureus-positive samples were resistant to erythromycin and cefoxitin and 11.67% were resistant to oxacillin. These findings are not consistent with a previous study of nasal carriers of S. aureus in nursing students that reported the rate of S. aureus positivity as 32.5%, MRSA as 10%, and resistance to erythromycin as 30% (20). According to our results, 6.67% of the isolates were resistant to clindamycin that contradicts the findings of da Silva et al in Pernambuco; they assessed resistance to clindamycin among nursing staff in a teaching hospital and reported that 11.9% of the nasal carriers were resistant to clindamycin (21).…”