Methicillin resistance among Staphylococcus aureus isolates from Saudi hospitals

ABSTRACT

To determine the prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus [MRSA] strains among clinical isolates collected from the 4 tertiary hospitals in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, and to test the antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of S. aureus isolates against 9 antimicrobial agents. A total of 512 S. aureus clinical isolates were collected during a period of 1 year starting in April 2003 in AI-Noor, King Abdul-Aziz, Hera and King Faisal Hospitals, Makkah, Saudi Arabia. The sensitivity patterns of these isolates were determined using the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method. The prevalence of MRSA among S. aureus isolates was 38.9% [199/512]. Among 199 MRSA isolates, 78.8% showed multidrug resistance to erythromycin, gentamicin and oxytetracycline. The rate of MRSA resistance in this study was much higher than what had been reported in other areas of Saudi Arabia emphasizing the need for local or country-based surveillance to characterize and monitor MRSA and to develop strategies that will improve MRSA treatment and control