Prevalence of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in a Tertiary-Care Hospital in Eastern Nepal

Abstract

Nosocomial infection is a major problem in the world today. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus
aureus (MRSA) strains, usually resistant to several antibiotics, shows a particular ability to spread in
hospitals and is now present in most of the countries.
The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of MRSA infections and their
antimicrobial susceptibility pattern in our hospital located in eastern Nepal.
Identification of Staphylococcus aureus was confirmed by standard methods and the antimicrobial
susceptibility testing was performed by Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method. Interpretation criteria
were those of the national committee for clinical laboratory standards.
During a period of one year, out of a total of 750 Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from various
clinical samples, 196 (26.14%) were found to be Methicillin-resistant. Seventy percent isolates of MRSA
were from inpatient departments and amongst them only 10% of the isolates were from intensive
care units (ICU). More than 65% of MRSA were found to be resistant to Penicillin, Cephalosporins,
Ciprofloxacin, Gentamicin Erythromycin and Tetracycline, while 47.96% of them were resistant to
Amikacin. Many MRSA strains were multidrug-resistant. However, no strains were resistant to
Vancomycin.
To reduce the prevalence of MRSA, the regular surveillance of hospital acquired infection, isolation
nursing of patients who carry MRSA, monitoring of antimicrobial susceptibility pattern and
formulation of a definite antibiotic policy may be helpful.
Key words:eastern Nepal, resistant, tertiary-care hospital