METHICILLIN-RESISTANT STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS NASAL CARRIAGE AMONG HOSPITALIZED PATIENTS AND HEALTHCARE WORKERS IN THE CLINICAL CENTER OF SERBIA

The aim of the present study was to provide the first comprehensive analysis of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) carriage among patients and healthcare workers (HCWs) in the largest healthcare facility in Serbia. Specimens from anterior nares obtained from 195 hospitalized patients and 105 HCWs were inoculated after broth enrichment onto chromogenic MRSA-ID medium. In total, 21 of 300 specimens yielded MRSA. Among hospitalized patients, 7.7% were colonized with MRSA, and 5.7% HCWs were colonized with MRSA. Five out of 21 (23.8%) tested MRSA strains were classified as community-associated MRSA (CA-MRSA), and four of them were isolated from HCWs. The remaining 16 MRSA strains had characteristics of healthcare-associated MRSA (HA-MRSA), and two of them were isolated from HCWs. The HA-MRSA strains isolated from HCWs were indistinguishable from HA-MRSA of the same cluster isolated from patients. This finding reveals the circulation of HA-MRSA strains between patients and HCWs in the Clinical Center of Serbia.