Naheed Akbar, Saima Seher, Mobina Dodhy, Abbas Hayat.
Nasal carriage of Staphylococcus Aureus in Health Care Workers in Rawalpindi General Hospital.
J Rawal Med Coll Jan ;6(2):74-6.

Background: To detect nasal carriage of Staphylococcus aureus in health care workers of Rawalpindi General Hospital, Rawalpindi. Method: 107 nasal swabs of workers were taken and cultured according to standardized method. The culture positive individuals were offered treatment and cultures again repeated. Results: Of the 107 samples obtained, 36 (33%) were positive for Staph. aureus with high resistance to first line antibiotics. 70% resistance was noted with penicillin and 50% with erythromycin and ampicillin. 20% were resistant to methicillin. 100% sensitivity was noted with piperacillin/tazobactam (tazocin). Conclusion: There is a high nasal carriage rate of Staph. aureus among hospital workers. Many are resistant to first line antibiotics. Piperacillin/tazobactam remains an excellent drug to treat Staph. aureus infection. Preventive strategies are extremely important to eradicate the carrier state of this organism.

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