Methicillin-resistance among Turkish isolates of Staphylococcus aureus

Abstract

The purposes of this study were to determine the prevalence of Turkish isolates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in nosocomial and community infections and their antibiotic resistant patterns. The oxacillin disk diffusion method for the detection of methicillin resistance and the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion for antibiotic susceptibility tests were used. A total 383 S. aureus strains were identified from different patients. The prevalence of methicillin resistance among S. aureus strains was 31.3% (120/383). The proportions of MRSA isolated from nosocomial and community infections were 26.4% (46/174) and 35.4% (74/209), respectively. The resistance rates of MRSA to other antibiotics were as follows: 71% resistant to erythromycin, 54% to clindamycin, 52% to gentamicin, 44.5% to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and 36% to ciprofloxacin. No strain resistant to vancomycin was recorded in this study.