Relationship between multiple drug resistance and biofilm formation in Staphylococcus aureus isolated from medical and non-medical personnel in Yaounde, Cameroon

INTRODUCTION: Monitoring the prevalence of nasal carriage of multiple drug resistance (MDR) Staphylococcus aureus (SA) strains in hospital personnel is essential. These strains when transmitted from hospital personnel to patients with already weakened immune states or in-built medical devices, may limit the latter's treatment options. This study aimed at assessing the potential exposure of patients to these MDR SA in a resource-limited hospital setting by assessing the prevalence and relationship between antimicrobial susceptibility and biofilm forming capacity of SA isolates from hospital personnel. METHODS: A total of 59 bacteria isolates phenotypically identified as Staphylococcus aureus obtained from medical (39) and non-medical personnel (20) in Yaounde were used in the study. Multiple drug resistance defined as resistance to four or more of twelve locally used antibiotics were determined by Kirby Bauer disc diffusion technique whereas quantification of biofilm production was by the microtitre plate method. RESULTS: Among the 59 SA isolates, the prevalence of MDR was 50.9%. Among medical personnel 48.7% had MDR as against 55.9% for non-medical personnel (p-value=0.648). The overall percentage of weak biofilm producers was 35.6%. Although the prevalence of weak biofilm formers was higher in isolates from non-medical personnel (40%) than medical personnel (33.3%) the difference was not statistically significant (p-value= 0.246). Slightly less than half (42.9%) of the weak biofilm producers were MDR. CONCLUSION: Considering the high rates of MDR and that slightly less than half of biofilm formers were MDR, these trends need to be monitored regularly among hospital personnel in Yaounde.