Drug resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Clinical Samples at Kampala International University-teaching Hospital, Bushenyi District, Uganda

Background: Staphylococcus aureus that is resistant to methicillin is an important nosocomial pathogen that often causes infections that are hard to treat. This is due to the fact that the pathogen is usually resistant to other commonly used antibiotics. The presence of drug resistant MRSA among patients has previously been documented in various parts of Uganda. However no reports have been documented for Kampala International University Teaching hospital in western Uganda. This study was therefore carried out to determine the prevalence and antibiotic resistance of MRSA strains in the patients hospitalized in the surgical ward. Methods: Wound swabs were collected from both male and female patients hospitalized in the surgical ward. Samples were then cultured in suitable media. The Staphylococcus aureus colonies that were obtained were tested for resistance to oxacillin to determine the strains that were MRSA. Further antibiotic resistance of the MRSA isolates was determined by the disc diffusion method using various antibiotics. Results: Out of the one hundred and fourteen isolates from the clinical samples, only seventy five isolates were clearly identified as S. aureus with 85.3% coagulase positive and 13.3% coagulase negative. Methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus was prevalent at a rate of 56.1%. among the MRSA isolates, resistance to ciprofloxacin was observed to be the highest while resistance to ceftriaxone was observed to be the least. Conclusion: The high prevalence of MRSA amongst the surgical ward patients requires proper measures to be taken to prevent further spread of the pathogen. It is recommended that the source of this drug resistant strains of MRSA be determined so as to design appropriate interventions to prevent the future emergence of infections that are hard to treat. Keywords: surgical site infections, methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus, surgical ward, Uganda, drug resistance