Staphylococcus aureus Isolated from Patients Living and Admitted in a Hospital Located in a Gas Flaring Community

Introduction: Staphylococcus aureus is a colonizer of the nasal cavities of humans and can cause various infections under favourable conditions. A causal relationship between ambient air pollution and antibiotic resistance is beginning to unfold.

Aim: The present study aimed to provide information on the prevalence and resistance pattern of S. aureus obtained from hospitalized patients living in a gas flaring location.

Methodology: Nasal swab samples were obtained from 40 patients hospitalised and living in a gas flaring environment. Microbiological isolation and identification methods were utilized to identify Staphylococcus aureus. Antibiotic sensitivity was assessed for each of the isolate to various commonly prescribed antibiotics s as recommended by CLSI using the disk-diffusion method.

Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was determined using cefoxitin disc and oxacillin containing agar.

Results: A total of 40 (100%) Staphylococcus aureus were isolated from the nasal swabs of hospitalized patients. A 72.5 %, 67.5% and 47.5% resistance of the isolates to penicillin, amoxicillin and cloxacillin was found when the samples were tested against these antibiotics. The percentage prevalence of 67.5% of S. aureus isolate were methicillin resistant by the cefoxitin disc method. This method was found to be more authentic than oxacillin disc methods. Multidrug resistance was

observed in 75.0% of isolates.

Conclusion: This high prevalence observed may not only be associated with misuse of antibiotics but may have been influenced by gas flaring activities, as the link between pollution and increased resistance has been provided in some earlier studies. We therefore join the call to end gas flaring.