Frequency of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus nasal carriage in healthy children

The prevalence of community acquired methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MR- SA) is increasing around the world. It involves healthy people and causes a variety of diseases. This cross sectional study was conducted from September 2010 - June 2011 on children less than 14 years of Ahvaz, southwest Iran. The participants were selected with two staged cluster sampling. A sterile cotton nasal swab was used to collect the samples from the 864 participants. MRSA isolates were identifed by catalase and coagulase tests and 1 μg oxacillin disk method. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed on all the MRSA colonies to detect the mecA gene. Data was put in SPSS 16 software and descriptive statistics and chi-square test were used for analysis. Out of 864 children, 471(54.51%) were male and 393 (45.49%) were female. 235 children (27.1%) had Staphylo- coccus aureus and 11 (1.3%) of all children diagnosed with MRSA. PCR showed that 7 colonies (0.8%) had the mecA gene. The results of this study indicate that MRSA exists in healthy children of Ahvaz. Although the prevalence of CA-MRSA is lower than many other regions, it still needs close attention to prevent its transmission. Further studies are needed to identify the risk factors of CA-MRSA.