Study of nasal carriage of MRSA among the clinical staff and health care workers of a teaching hospital of Karnataka, India.

Abstract

Objective: The present study was conducted to evaluate the rate of nasal carriage of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus among the clinical staff and health careworkers working at our hospital with an aim to prevent the hospital acquired infections. Background: Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus colonisation precedes infection, anterior nares being the ecological niches of Staphylcoccus aureus. Carriage of Staphylococcus aureus in the nose appears to play a key role in the epidemiology and pathogenesis of infection. Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus is usually introduced into an institution by a colonised or infected patient or a healthcare worker.When nose is treated topically to eliminate nasal carriage, in most cases the organism also disappears from other areas of the body like groin, axilla, umbilicus, and hands.