• Prevalence of oxacillin-susceptible and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from healthy carriers in Ardabil, Iran
  • Kazem Nejati-Koshki,1,* Malek Namaki Kheljan,2 Zohreh Neyestani,3 solmaz basirikhiavi,4
    1. Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences
    2. Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran.
    3. Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran.
    4. Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran.


  • Introduction: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is often the cause of a wide broad of infections ranging from minor skin infections to serious infections such as toxic shock syndrome (TSS) in hospital and community settings.
  • Methods: 200 nasal swab samples were randomly collected from male and female students at three different high schools in Ardabil, Iran. After confirmation of S. aureus strains by standard biochemical tests, the antibiotic sensitivity pattern of the isolates was determined by the disk diffusion method. The presence of the mec A gene was examined by PCR.
  • Results: From 250 students, 14.4% (n = 36) were positive for S. aureus. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed using 12 antibiotic disks. Based on the results, 100% of the isolates were resistant to ampicillin while all were sensitive to vancomycin. Moreover, 16.66% of S. aureus isolates were resistant to cefoxitin and 8.33% to oxacillin. The presence of the mec A gene was confirmed in 50% of cases. These results indicated oxacillin-susceptible mec A-positive S. aureus (OS-MRSA) colonization among students.
  • Conclusion: Our findings highlight the spread of OS-MRSA among the healthy population in Ardabil, Iran. Genetic and phenotypic tests are needed to accurately detect MRSA.
  • Keywords: Staphylococcus aureus; MRSA; mec A; School students