METHICILLIN RESISTANCE IN STAPHYLOCOCCAL ISOLATES FROM CLINICAL AND ASYMPTOMATIC BACTERIURIA SPECIMENS: IMPLICATIONS FOR INFECTION CONTROL

Abstract

The study assessed the importance of Staphylococcus aureus as a urinary pathogen and the incidence of multidrug resistant (MDR), methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). A total of 86 staphylococcal isolates made up of 50 clinical isolates from urine samples submitted to the Medical Microbiology Laboratory of Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital and 36 asymptomatic bacteriuria isolates from urine samples of ‘healthy' volunteers within the university community were tested for their susceptibility to various antibiotics and production of b-lactamase enzyme. A total of 27 isolates (31.4%) were methicillin resistant, with 12(44.4%) being methicillin resistant coagulase-negative staphylococci (MRCNS). Majority of the isolates tested were resistant to the cheap, readily available broad-spectrum antibiotics; ampicillin, amoxicillin, chloramphenicol, tetracycline and penicillin G. All the isolates were resistant to three or more of the antimicrobial agents tested. A total of 14/50 (28%) of the clinical isolates and 17/36 (47.2%) of the ‘community' isolates from healthy volunteers were resistant to 7 or more of the antimicrobial agents tested. Analysis of the multiple antibiotic resistance (MAR) index of isolates and the production of b-lactamase enzyme showed that 56 isolates representing 65.1% of the total number tested had an MAR index of 0.5 and above indicating that they probably originated from an environment where antibiotics are frequently used. The implication of these findings for instituting effective control measures aimed at reducing the pool of antibiotic-resistant organisms is discussed.


Key words: Methicillin-resistant, staphylococcus aureus, asymptomatic bacteriuria, infection control


(Af J Clinical & Exp Microbiology: 2003 4(2): 79-90)