Nasal Carriage Rate of Staphylococcus aureus , Its Associated Factors, and Antimicrobial Susceptibility Pattern Among Health Care Workers in Public Hospitals, Harar, Eastern Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Staphylococcus aureus is the bacteria that colonizes the nasal nares of health-care workers and serves as a reservoir for the spread of pathogen for subsequent infections, mainly Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus . However, there is a limited study conducted regarding this topic in Harar, Eastern Ethiopia.

OBJECTIVE: The main objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of nasal carriage of Staphylococcus aureus , associated factors and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns among health-care workers of public hospitals in Harar, Eastern Ethiopia from May 15 to July 30, 2021.

METHODS: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted on 295 health-care workers. A simple random sampling technique was used to select the participant. Nasal swabs were collected and cultured at 35°C for 24hrs. S. aureus was identified using the coagulase test and catalase test. Methicillin resistance S. aureus (MRSA) was screened using a cefoxitin disc on Muller Hinton agar using the Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method. Data were entered into EPI-Info version-7 and transferred to SPSS-20 for analysis. Factors associated with nasal carriage of Staphylococcus aureus were determined by using chi-square analysis. A p -value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

RESULTS: The prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus in this study was 15.6% (95% CI: 11.7%, 20.3%) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus was 11.2% (95% CI: 7.8%, 15.4%), respectively. Age (P < 0.001), work experience (p < 0.001), working unit (p < 0.02), antibiotic use within 3 months (p < 0.001), hand washing habit (p < 0.01), hand rub use (p < 0.001), living with smokers (p < 0.001), living with pets (p < 0.001) and having chronic diseases (p < 0.001) were found significantly associated with Staphylococcus aureus nasal carriage.

CONCLUSION: The prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus and Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus are high in our study. The study emphasizes the need for regular surveillance among hospital staff and the environment to prevent MRSA transmission among health-care personnel.