Prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus and Community-Associated Methicillin-Resistant Strains On Doorknobs in Albaha Region, Saudi Arabia

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Albaha University, Saudi Arabia.

2 Department of Laboratory Medicine, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Albaha University, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Staphylococcus aureus can cause food poisoning, folliculitis, furuncles, carbuncles, abscesses, cellulitis, fasciitis, endocarditis, endovascular infections, pneumonia, septic arthritis, osteomyelitis, and sepsis. Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) isolates were originally limited to hospitals, healthcare settings and laboratories. However, the frequency of community-acquired MRSA infections has alarmingly increased in the last two decades. The present study determined the prevalence of methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (MSSA) and community-acquired methicillin-resistant S. aureus (CA-MRSA) on doorknobs/handles at the campus of Albaha University in Saudi. Samples from the doorknobs and handles collected between May 2021 and January 2022 were grown on mannitol salt agar and identified using conventional and molecular methods. A total of 35 (17.6%) and 12 samples (6%) were found positive for MSSA and MRSA, respectively. Current findings suggested that university staff and students were potential colonizers of MSSA and CA-MRSA and that fomites potentially transmitted infections to staff and students. Current findings strongly suggest the implementation of effective prevention measures as an essential step to decrease the risk of acquiring CA-MRSA infections in a public setting.

Keywords

Egyptian Academic Journal of Biological Sciences. C, Physiology and Molecular Biology
Volume 14, Issue 2
December 2022
Pages 249-255

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