meca and pvl genes in methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus from clinical specimens: a cross-sectional hospital based study from nepal

Background and objectives: staphylococcus aureus has increasingly been associated with community and healthcare-associated infections worldwide and contributes to treatment failures due to the emergence of multidrug-resistant (mdr) and methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (mrsa) strains. we aimed to determine the prevalence and antibiotic susceptibility pattern of mrsa isolated from patients attending a burn center and to detect meca and pvl genes among mrsa isolates.materials and methods: a cross-sectional hospital based study was conducted on 1950 clinical samples collected from hospital inpatients and outpatients of kirtipur hospital, which is a burn specialist hospital in kathmandu, nepal. each sample underwent conventional cultural methods for bacterial isolates identification.results: out of 1950 samples, 452 (23.2%) samples showed bacterial growth, of which 109 isolates (24.1%) were identified as gram positive and 343 (75.9%) as gram negative bacteria. among the gram positive bacteria, 53 (48.62%) were staphylococcus aureus. of the total s. aureus isolates, 40 (75.5%) were mrsa and 48 (90.6%) were mdr. of the 40 mrsa isolates, 29 (72.5%) carried the meca gene and 3 (7.5%) harbored pvl gene.conclusion: the high prevalence of mrsa in a burn unit underscores the need for more rigorous infection control practices that follow standard protocols to reduce mrsa transmission in both individuals and the hospital environment.