Abstract:
Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) continues to be
a major cause of serious infections in the community worldwide while
in Sudan we still lacking the preliminary data for this pathogen. This
study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of Staphylococcus
aureus nasal carriers among primary school children in Omdurman
City, Khartoum State and, also to evaluate the antibiotic susceptibility
pattern of the isolates. The distribution of sample was as follows: 50
(50/100) nasal swabs are taken from children of Nour Algofran
Primary School and 50 (50/100) samples are taken from Gobaa
Primary school children. All samples were cultured on Manitol salt
agar. Different biochemical tests and Gram<s stain were used for
identification of S. aureus. The results confirmed the existence of S.
aureus in 43; (43%) of enrolled children among which 7; (16%) are
methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) were identified
by using disk diffusion method according to the Clinical Laboratory
Standards Institution (CLSI) guidance. Erythromycin resistance was
present in 7(16%) isolates. However, no isolate were resistant to
vancomycin. All isolates were resistant to penicillin G. There is no
significant association between Staphylococcus aureus nasal carriage
and gender (p= 0.484), age (p= 0.884), household number (p= 0.496)
and recent respiratory tract infections (p= 0.104). The results of this
study indicated that the carriage of MRSA exists among young
healthy school children who lack traditional risk factors for MRSA.
