Nasal carriage of Staphylococcus aureus: Frequency and antibiotic resistance in healthy adults

Background: this study aimed to determine the frequency of nasal carriage and antibiotic susceptibility profile of staphylococcus aureus (s. aureus) among healthy young adults who referred to premarital screening clinics. methods: a cross-sectional study including 158 adults (79 men and 79 women) was conducted at health care centers, isfahan, iran, during february-august 2008. nasal swabs from anterior nares of healthy adults were cultured and tested for s. aureus. antibiotic susceptibility testing was performed on muller-hinton agar using disc diffusion method according to clinical laboratory standards institute (clsi). results: the prevalence of s. aureus nasal carriage was 26.6%. resistance to penicillin had the highest rate. the isolates demonstrated higher sensitivity to vancomycin, clindamycin, and rifampicin. in addition, twenty-two s. aureus isolates had intermediate resistance to antibiotics. conclusions: the importance of implementing strategies to eliminate nasal carriage of s. aureus to prevent the spread of infection is highlighted. effective strategies in this field are thus strongly recommended.