Prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of Staphylococcus aureus/methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus nasal carriage among Kabul University students

Nasal carriage of Staphylococcus aureus/Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus/MRSA) poses a major risk for the transmission and infection of this pathogen especially in hospital setting. The main objective of this study was to investigate the colonization of S. aureus/MRSA among healthy individuals and determine their susceptibility patterns to common antibiotics in Kabul. A total of 150 healthy participants have been included and nasal swabs were collected from all. Samples were cultured on appropriate and selective media for proper identification of S. aureus. Antibiotic susceptibility profiles were determined by the disc diffusion method and interpreted according to the Clinical & Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) protocols. The prevalence of S. aureus nasal colonization was 33.3% with 12.7% MRSA nasal carriage. The prevalence of S. aureus/MRSA colonization was not statistically significant according to gender (p=0.84) and age (0.18). All MRSA isolates were sensitive to rifampicin, linezolid and acid fusidic. Thirty-two percent of the S. aureus isolates were multi-drug resistant. Multi-drug resistance varied from resistance to at least three classes of antibiotics (14%) to maximum six classes of antibiotics (4%). This study revealed a high prevalence of S. aureus/MRSA nasal carriage among healthy individuals when compared to similar studies conducted elsewhere and is a reason of concern. Identifying and treating MRSA carriers, as well as responsible use of antibiotics is recommended.