Nasal Carriage Rate of Staphylococcus aureus in Hospital Personnel of National Medical College and Teaching Hospital and their Antibiotic Susceptibility Pattern

Nasal carriage of S. aureus has been identified as a risk factor for community-acquired and nosocomial infections. Healthyhospital personnel may carry pathogenic hospital strains in their nose and skin and may spread these pathogens to thecommunity leading to more dreadful condition. This study was carried out at National Medical College & Teaching Hospitalwith the objective to study the nasal carriage of Staphylococcus aurues among the staffs at the hospital. A total of 54 nasalswabs were taken from the hospital staff. All the samples were processed following standard microbiological method. Grampositive cocci that were mannitol fermenting, catalase positive and coagulase positive isolates were considered as S. aureus.Nasal carriage rate of S. aureus among hospital staff was found to be 20.37%. Carriage among male and female staff was19% and 21.2% respectively (p>0.05). All nasal S. aureus isolates were sensitive to Amikacin and Vancomycin. Methicillinresistance rate was found to be 45.5%. High rate of nasal carriage of S. aureus indicates need for standard infection controlpractices to prevent transmission. Key words: Hospital staff, Nasal Carriage, S. aureus