Staphylococcus aureus including MRSA nasal carriage among hospital exposed and unexposed medical students

INTRODUCTION: Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most common human pathogen causing a wide range of infections. It is estimated that S.aureus colonizes the anterior nares in approximately 31% of the general population at any given time. The incidence of community acquired & hospital acquired S. aureus has been increasing over the past few decades, predominantly due to continuous upsurge in the drug resistant isolates. Moreover, globally the incidence of methicillin resistant S.aureus (MRSA) is progressively increasing. Hence, it would be imperative to screen all healthcare workers, interns and admitted patients for MRSA carriage and to treat all those who are found positive for the same. With the above background, the current study was undertaken to investigate the carrier rate of S. aureus (including MRSA) among hospital unexposed & exposed medical students. METHODS: A total of 181 medical students of Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali Government Institute of Medical Sciences & Research, Srinagar Garhwal, Uttarakhand. Study participants were broadly divided into two groups: hospital exposed group (n=107) and hospital unexposed group (n=74). Nasal swabs were obtained & cultured for the detection of S. aureus. Congo red agar and 0.1% Crystal Violet Assay were performed to observe the ability to form in vitro biofilm by S. aureus. RESULTS: Out of total 181 medical students 29.28% were found to be healthy carrier of S. aureus. Among the hospital exposed group 37.38% and among hospital unexposed group 17.57% were found to be healthy carrier of S. aureus. Only one student (hospital exposed group) was found to be positive for MRSA. Beta-lactamase production was noted in 90.57% strains of S. aureus while the significant rate of slime layer production was observed in 73.58% of strains. CONCLUSION: Prevalence of S. aureus nasal carriage increases with the duration of exposure to the hospital environment. The nasal carriage of S. aureus in medical students indicate the potential danger of dissemination of S. aureus including MRSA from them to the hospitalized patients which in turn complicates the treatment of same.