Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus nasal colonisation amongst healthcare workers in Kurdistan Region, Iraq.

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of nasal carriage of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) among healthcare workers (HCWs) compared with non-HCWs at Duhok city, Kurdistan Region, northern Iraq. A total of 182 HCWs with different occupations and working in different hospital units as well as 198 non-HCWs were recruited. Nasal swab samples were collected and were inoculated on mannitol salt agar and incubated at 35°C for 48h. Isolates identified as S. aureus underwent antimicrobial sensitivity testing to oxacillin. MRSA isolates were selected and investigated for presence of the mecA gene. Among the HCWs, 41/182 (22.5%) were carriers of S. aureus compared with 37/198 (18.7%) non-HCWs (P=0.4). Amongst the S. aureus carriers, 25/41 strains (61.0%) isolated from HCWs were MRSA compared with 8/37 strains (21.6%) isolated from non-HCWs (P=0.039). The mean age of MRSA carriers was 35.6±6.7years compared with 30±5.8years for MRSA non-carriers (P=0.0177). The mean working years of MRSA carriers was significantly higher than that of MRSA non-carriers (7.8±5.5years vs. 3.9±5.3years; P=0.04). The prevalence of MRSA was very high amongst HCWs. Regular screening of carriers is required for prevention of nosocomial infections.

Hussein NR ，Assafi MS ，Ijaz T 《-》

Nasal carriage of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus among health care workers at Al Shifa hospital in Gaza Strip.

El Aila NA ，Al Laham NA ，Ayesh BM 《BMC INFECTIOUS DISEASES》

Prevalence of nasal carriage of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and its antibiotic susceptibility pattern in healthcare workers at Namazi Hospital, Shiraz, Iran.

Askarian M ，Zeinalzadeh A ，Japoni A ，Alborzi A ，Memish ZA ... -  《-》

Prevalence of oxacillin-susceptible methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus nasal carriage and their clonal diversity among patients attending public health-care facilities.

Muzy Dias AP ，Guimarães LC ，V Petrucci LBD ，Z Pinheiro JA ，Pinheiro MG ，Silva FRE ，Póvoa HCC ，Aguiar-Alves F ... -  《-》

Prevalence and molecular characteristics of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus among nasal carriage strains isolated from emergency department patients and healthcare workers in central Taiwan.

Screening and identification of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) carriage are helpful for controlling MRSA dissemination in hospitals. The aim of our study was to determine the prevalence of nasal carriages and diversity of MRSA among patients and healthcare workers (HCWs) at two regional hospitals in Taiwan. Nasal swabs were obtained prospectively from 204 patients visiting the emergency department (ED) and 326 HCWs in two regional hospitals in Changhua, Taiwan, between February 2015 and June 2015. All the MRSA isolates were further molecularly characterized. Of the 204 participating patients, the nasal carriage rates of S. aureus and MRSA were 22.1% and 7.8%, respectively. For HCWs, the S. aureus and MRSA carriage rates were 26.1% and 6.1%, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference in MRSA carriage rate between patients and HCWs (P = 0.447). Patients receiving hemodialysis were significantly associated with MRSA colonization (P = 0.012). The leading three sequence types (ST) were ST59 (16, 44.4%), ST45 (11, 30.6%), and ST239 (3, 8.3%) for all 36 MRSA isolates. ST59/SCCmec IV/t437/PVL-negative and ST45/SCCmec V/t1081/PVL-negative were the predominant clones among HCWs (30%) and participating patients (19%), respectively. Overall, a substantial proportion of patients visiting the ED and HCWs harbored CA-MRSA, mostly ST59 strains, in their nares. It is noteworthy that MRSA ST45 strains supplanted ST239 as the second leading nasal MRSA colonization strain in our study.

Wu TH ，Lee CY ，Yang HJ ，Fang YP ，Chang YF ，Tzeng SL ，Lu MC ... -  《-》