Screening of nasal carriage for Staphylococcus aureus and their resistance to oxacillin and cefoxitin among medical students in Karbala University

Objective Carriage of Staphylococcus aureus, especially methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) is a problem within healthcare organizations and in the community. The aim of the study was to screen S. aureus carriage and their susceptibility to cefoxitin and oxacillin among medical students. Methods A total of 100 nasal swabs were collected. Isolation and identification of the isolate as S. aureus was done using Gram stain, coagulase test and catalase test. S. aureus isolates were confirmed as MRSA using cefoxitin (30 mu g) disc and oxacillin (30 mu g) disc by Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method on Mueller-Hinton agar. From 100 nasal swabs, 76 were coagulase negative Staphylococci and 20 were coagulase positive Staphylococci. Results From 100 nasal swabs, 76 were coagulase negative Staphylococci and 20 were coagulase positive Staphylococci. From these, 60% and 40% were oxacillin-and cefoxitin-resistant isolates, respectively. The data obtained from this study revealed that there were carriers of MRSA among the medical students.