A Survey of Antibiotic Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Strains from Clinical Sources in Owerri

A survey of antibiotic resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains from clinical specimens was carried out. A total of 100 different clinical specimens were investigated with a yield of 48 Staphylococcus aureus isolates. A high resistance of 95.8% to penicillin, 89.6% to ampicillin, 87.5% to tetracycline, and 75.0% to chloramphenicol by Staphylococcus aureus strains were recorded. A high susceptibility of 91.7% to gentamicin and 85.4% to cloxacillin were also record. The high percentage resistance to the antibiotics studied could be attributed to their prevailing usage and abuse in the area under study. The implication of the high percentage recorded for the antibiotics is that Staphylococcus aureus infections could be effectively treated with gentamicin and cloxacillin and not with penicillin, ampicillin, tetracycline, and chloramphenicol in the area under study. Journal of Applied Sciences and Environmental Management Vol. 8 (1) 2004: 67 - 69