Antibiotic susceptibility of Staphylococcus aureus isolates from a Nigerian Federal Medical Center

Abstract

Clinical isolates of Staphylococcus aureus were collected from different human anatomical sites over a period of three months in a Federal Medical Center located at Abeokuta in South Western Nigeria. The antibiotic susceptibility patterns of the isolates were determined against tetracycline, ciprofloxacin, gentamicin, erythromycin, penicillin G, chloramphenicol and oxacillin using the disc diffusion plate method. Ability to produce -lactamase enzyme was also screened for as well as their susceptibility to vancomycin using the tube dilution broth method. Urine, wound swabs and endocervical swabs were the major sources of S. aureus accounting for 27.77%, 19.19% and 13.80% of the total isolates respectively. Resistance profiling of these isolates revealed that the large majority was multi-drug resistant, and the observation of 33.33% methicillin [oxacillin] resistant S. aureus [MRSA] and 13.89% vancomycin resistant S. aureus [VRSA] in the present study strongly indicate that the methicillin and vancomycin susceptibility status of S .aureus in Nigeria is fast changing for the worse.

Keywords: MRSA, VRSA, Antibiotics, Susceptibility, clinical Isolates, Medical-centre.

CaJEB Vol. 3 (2) 2007: pp. 97-102