Prevalence and Antibiotic Susceptibility Profile of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) Isolated from Different Clinical Samples in District Peshawar

Abstract

Purpose : Staphylococcus aureus is a flexible pathogen causing variety of infections in humans and other animals. The current investigation was aimed to study the prevalence rate and sensitivity profile of MRSA strains isolated from clinical samples to various antimicrobial agents. Methods : Isolates from three different clinical specimens; pus, body fluids and blood were obtained from patients, belonging to various parts of District Peshawar of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Each sample was processed by conventional method using blood, MacConkey and CLED agar. Staphylococcus aureus was identified and confirmed by Gram staining, catalase test and coagulase test. Antibiotic susceptibility pattern of MRSA to different antibiotics was confirmed by standard Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method. Results : A total of 855 clinical samples were studied, out of which 45 (5.26%) were found positive for MRSA, among which 32 (71%) were from pus samples, 8 (18%) were from fluids samples and 5 (11%) were from blood samples. The frequency of MRSA strains was more in males (69%) than in females (31%). All MRSA isolates showed complete resistance to oxacillin, ampicillin and penicillin and complete sensitivity to linezolid, teicoplanin, and vancomycin. These MRSA strains also showed various degrees of resistance to other antimicrobials such as ceftriaxone (77.77%), cefoxitin (64.44%), erythromycin (82.22%), clindamycin (71.11%), co-amoxiclav (75.55%), fusidic acid (66.66%), and gentamycin (73.3%). Conclusion : Our results show lower MRSA prevalence in Peshawar than the previous reports in Peshawar and other areas of Pakistan. However; since MRSA is multidrug resistant, proper culture sensitivity test should be carried out for proper choice of antibiotic/s to treat MRSA infections.