High prevalence of MRSA and VRSA among inpatients of Mettu Karl Referral Hospital, Southwest Ethiopia.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the prevalence of methicillin and vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus among patients admitted to Mettu Karl Referral Hospital.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted to study the point prevalence of MRSA and VRSA. A total of 384 patients (male = 201 and female = 183) admitted to medical (109), paediatric (109) and surgical (166) wards of Mettu Karl Referral Hospital from November 2019 to April 2020 were included in the study. We studied 384 samples (166 wound swabs and 218 nasal swabs) collected from inpatients. Staphylococcus aureus was isolated, characterised and identified based on morphological and biochemical features and confirmed by PCR amplification of the nuc gene. The isolates were checked against 12 antibiotics, and MRSA isolates were primarily identified using cefoxitin (30 μg) and confirmed by amplification of mecA gene. Staphylococcus aureus resistance to Vancomycin was tested by the broth microdilution method.

RESULTS

The rate of isolation of Staphylococcus aureus was 32.8% (126/384). The point prevalence of MRSA and VRSA from clinical specimens was 18.8% (72/384) and 2.6% (10/384), respectively. Of 126 Staphylococcus aureus isolated, 57.1% (72) were MRSA and 7.9% (10) were VRSA. Of the 166 samples collected from patients in the surgical ward, the rates of isolation of MRSA and VRSA were 21.1% (35/166) and 4.8% (8/166), respectively. A high rate of isolation of MRSA and VRSA was recorded among patients admitted to surgical wards compared with medical and paediatric wards.

CONCLUSIONS

This study showed a high prevalence of MRSA and VRSA in the hospital. Proper implementation of infection control practices and investigation of underlying risk factors are urgently needed to mitigate the further spread of the pathogen.