High Levels of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Carriage Among Healthcare Workers at a Teaching Hospital in Addis Ababa Ethiopia: First Evidence Using mecA Detection

Abstract

Background Staphylococcus aureus is a major human pathogen and causes healthcare and community-acquired infection. Data on the extent of MRSA colonization among health-care workers (HCWs) in sub-Saharan Africa are limited. Hence, we determined the burden of MRSA colonisation among HCWs and administrative staff in Tikur Anbessa Specialised Hospital (TASH), College of Health Sciences (CHS), Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia. Methods Using a cross-sectional study design, participants were screened for MRSA colonisation between June 2018 and August 2019 using nasal swabs. The swabs were analysed using standard laboratory methods including antibiotic resistance gene, mecA . Anonymised sociodemographic data were collected by pretested questionnaires to evaluate HCWs factors associated with MRSA carriage. Results A total of 588 HCWs and 468 administrative staff were screened for MRSA. Women were over-represented. Overall, 49.1% (289/588) of HCWs were nurses and 25% (117/468) of the administrative staff were cleaners or laundry workers. Overall, 138 S. aureus isolates were retrieved from the nasal swabs of both groups (16.3%, 96/588 from HCWs). The burden of MRSA colonisation was 4.8% (28/580, 95% CI: 3.1–6.5%) among HCWs compared to 0.2% (1/468, 95% CI: 0.18–0.6%) of administrative staff (p value <0.05). The majority of S. aureus and all MRSA isolates were resistant to penicillin. Isolates from HCWs were more resistant to tested antibiotics than administrative staff (P-value <0.05). Conclusion This is the first report in Ethiopia on MRSA colonization using mecA and revealed that; (i) overall carriage rates of MRSA in HCWs are comparable with observations reported in some other countries and (ii) HCWs exhibit a higher burden of MRSA carriage than administrative staff. Our data support strategic screening of MRSA and antimicrobial stewardship for better intervention measures.

Occurrence of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in Bovine Bulk Milk and Farm Workers in Smallholder Dairy Farming Systems in Northwestern Ethiopia

“…27,28 Several studies have been carried out in Ethiopia to investigate MRSA infections in different regions of the country. [29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36] However, there is a lack of information regarding MRSA in raw bulk milk and among farm workers. Thus, the aim of this study was to detect MRSA strains from bulk milk and dairy milkers and determine their phenotypic and genotypic antimicrobial profiles.…”

Antimicrobial Resistance and Virulence Gene Profile of Clinical Staphylococcus aureus: A Multi-Center Study from Ethiopia

“… 10 , 14 , 15 Currently, molecular detection of resistance and virulence genes is limited in clinical isolates in Ethiopia. 16 , 17 This study therefore, aimed to fill the gap of limited information on the molecular characterization of virulence, antimicrobial resistance genes and other clinically important genes from archived clinical S. aureus isolates from four Ethiopia AMR Surveillance sites.…”

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in Bovine pooled milk and Close human contacts from Northwestern Ethiopia

“…However, PCR-based detection of the mecA gene is still the gold standard for identifying MRSA isolates [27,28]. Several studies were carried out in Ethiopia to identify the presence of MRSA infections in various regions of the country [29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36]. However, information about MRSA from raw milk and farm workers is still rare.…”