Screening of methicillin-resistant in healthcare workers and students and its susceptibility to mupirocin in a tertiary care teaching hospital in South India.

BACKGROUND

is the most common pathogen causing infection in hospitals. They also colonize the healthcare workers who serve as reservoir of infection. Emergence of methicillin-resistant (MRSA) is a burning issue throughout the world contributing to significant morbidity and mortality. Use of mupirocin to eradicate the carrier state is the need of the hour.

OBJECTIVES

To screen healthcare workers (HCWs) and medical students for MRSA and to know the susceptibility of mupirocin in this group.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A total of 432 students, nursing staff, doctors and house-keeping staff were screened for MRSA for 4 months. The MRSA and methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative (MRCoNS) isolates were then tested for mupirocin resistance.

RESULTS

Out of 432 samples, 24 (5.55%) were MRSA and 104 (24.07%) were MRCoNS. Only 4.16% ( = 1) showed high-level resistance to mupirocin among the MRSA isolates, while resistance among MRCoNS was higher at 6.7% ( = 7) for low-level resistance and 17.30% ( = 18) for high-level resistance.

CONCLUSION

MRSA colonization of HCWs may serve as a source of infection and mupirocin resistance should be screened for all whether working in Intensive Care Units or not and if detected, alternative treatment should be used which will result in appropriate use of this antibiotic for decolonization.