Monitoring of drug resistant Staphylococcus aureus in People's Democratic Republic of Lao

Drug susceptibility of Staphylococcus aureus has been examined in the past 9 years to monitor the appearance of drug resistant strains especially methicillin resistant S. aureus (MRSA). The pattern of drug susceptibility has been relatively constant, but S. aureus is gradually becoming resistant to ampicillin. One MRSA was isolated in 1996 from the nasal vestibulum of a non-infected patient at Mahosot Hospital but not isolated thereafter. In 2001, 2 strains of MRSA which belonged to different clones were first isolated from the infection foci of patients. One was isolated from Setthathirath Hospital, where many Japanese staff have been dispatched since 2000. Careful monitoring and epidemiological studies of MRSA are recommended.