Increased incidence of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis in the skin and nasal carriage among healthcare workers and inanimate hospital surfaces after the COVID-19 pandemic

Esraa H. Al- Nsour; Hadeel T.  AL-Hadithi; Rania Mhammad  Al-Groom; Saqr  Abushattal; Abdallah Y  Naser; Ahmad H. Al  Nsour; Rawand A.  Sallam; Lara M.  Kollab; Laila  Alswalha; Mohd Sajjad  Ahmad Khan

doi:10.18502/ijm.v16i5.16791

Esraa H. Al- Nsour Department of Basic Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, Isra University, Amman, Jordan
Hadeel T. AL-Hadithi Department of Basic Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, Isra University, Amman, Jordan
Rania Mhammad Al-Groom Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Allied Medical Sciences, Zarqa University, Al-Zarqa, Jordan
Saqr Abushattal Department of Medical Analysis, College of Nursing and Medical Sciences, Al-Hussein Bin Talal University, Ma’an, Jordan
Abdallah Y Naser Department of Applied Pharmaceutical Sciences and Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Isra University, Amman, Jordan
Ahmad H. Al Nsour Department of Otolaryngology (ENT), Jordan University Hospital, Medical Doctor (ENT), Amman, Jordan
Rawand A. Sallam Department of Internal Medicine, Jordan University Hospital, Medical Doctor (Internal Medicine), Amman, Jordan
Lara M. Kollab Department of Internal Medicine, Jordan University Hospital, Medical Doctor (Internal Medicine), Amman, Jordan
Laila Alswalha Department of Allied Medical Sciences, Zarqa University College, Al-Balqa Applied University, Zarqa, Jordan
Mohd Sajjad Ahmad Khan Department of Basic Sciences, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/ijm.v16i5.16791

Keywords: : Healthcare workers; Methicillin resistant staphylococci; Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus; Methicil- lin-resistant coagulase-negative Staphylococci; Staphylococcus aureus; COVID 19

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Healthcare workers in hospitals are exposed to infectious diseases that occur in the hospital making them a source of infection for the patients. It is interfaced as cross-contamination agents for MRSA and MR-CoNS, and preventive measures need to be adapted accordingly. The study aimed to assess Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus (MRS) on the skin and nasal cavities of healthcare workers (HCWs) and identifying isolates to the species level.

Materials and Methods: Swab samples were cultured on mannitol salt agar (MSA) to obtain MRS and determine their ability to produce coagulase. Their susceptibility to antibiotics were determined by agar screening and disk diffusion methods and further identification was done at the species level.

Results: The highest percentage of methicillin resistant coagulase positive Staphylococci (MRCoPS) was reported among skins of male HCWs, (71.4%) were identified as MRSA. The highest levels of methicillin resistant coagulase negative Staph-ylococci (MRCoNS) were mainly detected in both nasal cavities, (75%) were identified as MRSE. MRSA was reported from

doctors (p-value 0.033), whereas the highest incidence of MRSE was obtained from the nurses (p-value 0.048).

Conclusion: This study highlighted that incidence of MRSA was mainly detected in doctors and MRCoNS in both nasal cav- ities. The highest percentage of MRCoNS was recovered from the patients’ room followed by the reception table. Moreover, vancomycin is suggested to be highly effective in managing and controlling S. aureus, MRSA- and MRSE related infections.