Staphylococcus aureus nasal carriage among healthcare workers, inpatients and caretakers in the Tamale Teaching Hospital, Ghana

Staphylococcus aureus associated nosocomial infection is an important health challenge as isolates may involve multidrug resistant strains. Sources of S.aureus infection in healthcare settings include colonized healthcare workers, inpatients, and caretakers. This study investigates S. aureus carriage rate and associated antimicrobial resistance among healthcare workers, inpatients, and caretakers in the Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH), Ghana. Nasal swabs and demographic data were collected from a cross-section of healthcare workers, inpatients, and caretakers. The swabs were culture and S. aureus isolates subjected to antibiotic susceptibility assay. Results: S. aureus nasal carriage rate was 25.5% (27/106) while MRSA and non-MRSA prevalence were 8.5% (9/106) and 17.0% (18/106) respectively. The proportion of S. aureus carriage distribution was highest among neonates 42.1% (8/19), follow by participant in the age group 11–20 years, 36.8% (7/19). Inpatients, healthcare workers, and caretakers recorded S. aureus carriage rate of 30.0% (15/50), 27.8% (10/36), and 10% (2/20), respectively. Healthcare workers had the highest proportion of MRSA 40% (4/10) and inpatients recorded a rate of 33.3% (5/15), while no case of MRSA was recorded among caretakers. Antibiotic resistance pattern of the isolates was generally higher in MRSA compared to non-MRSA. There exist relatively high rate of S. aureus nasal carriage among healthcare workers, inpatients, and caretakers in the wards/units of the TTH. However, MRSA were only isolated from healthcare workers and inpatients but not caretakers.