Incidence, molecular characterization and antibiotic resistance profile of Methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus Isolated from clinical origin and associated surroundings in hospital

Abstract

Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is notorious for its resistance to Penicillin derivative antibiotics and is also resistant to multiple drugs. In Bangladesh, the prevalence of MRSA is a staggering 72%. This study takes an approach to investigate the incidence, molecular characterization and antibiotic profiling of MRSA from clinical as well as associated surroundings in hospitals. Initial screening was done using selective and differential media and then confirmed by PCR against nuc, mecA and femA gene. The nuc+ isolates were tested against various antibiotic classes to produce an antibiotic profile. Isolates taken from hand swabs were tested for their susceptibility against hand sanitizers. 68.9% of the isolates in this study were proved to be MRSA through detection of nuc, femA and mecA and subsequent disk diffusion test revealed that 90.9% of those isolates were non-susceptible to multiple drugs and surprisingly a 100% of the isolate found on hand were unresponsive to hand sanitizers. Currently, we are at the cusp of a time when to combat the emergence of such a Hospital Associated Infection (HAI) causative superbug extensive research into its cultural along with molecular machinery is imperative. This thesis aims to investigate the incidence of MRSA in hospitalized patients and their immediate surroundings and their characterization.