Nasal Carriage of Staphylococcus Aureus among Apparently Healthy School Children in Owerri Metropolis, Nigeria

Staphylococcus aureus has being identified as a risk factor for community acquired and nosocomial infections. It is a common inhabitant of the skin and mucus membrane. Children with nasal carriage of S. aureus play an important role in community spread of S. aureus and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). Screening the nasal carriage isolates of S. aureus for antibiotic resistance patterns will provide guidelines for empiric therapy of community-acquired infections. In this study, 270 nasal swabs specimens collected from apparently healthy school children in Owerri metropolis were examined for S. aureus using mannitol salt agar. Antibiotic susceptibility tests were performed using Kirby-Bauer's disc diffusion method according to performance standards of Clinical and Laboratory Standard Institute guidelines. A total of 152 (56.3%) of the children were culture positive for S. aureus; out of the 152 cases, 78 (55.39) were males while 74 (57.3) were females. Results show that while sex is not a significant risk factor in S. aureus carriage, age was (P<0.05). The antibiotics susceptibility pattern of the isolates reveled that erythromycin and gentamicin were the most sensitive antibiotics. The high rates of nasal carriage of S. aureus and presence of resistance to commonly used antibiotics are disturbing. Antibiotic stewardship programs that promote judicious use of antibiotic along with strategies to prevent community spread of S. aureus are urgently needed.