Methicillin resistant staphylococcus on inanimate objects in paediatric treatment units of Mulago National Referral Hospital

Abstract

Background: Hospital environment and inanimate surfaces have been reported to be colonised by different pathogens. Contact with colonised objects may lead to pathogen transmission resulting in increased morbidity and mortality especially in the critically ill patients. Methicillin Resistant Staphylococci have been extracted from various hospital inanimate objects and have been shown to be among the most prevalent bacteria contaminating hospital fomites. This pathogen been found to be responsible for a growing number of nosocomial infections which appear to be disseminated globally with a prevalence varying from 5 to 50%. This coupled with the increase in Anti-microbial resistance in this population, there is growing need to address and update infection control methods in public hospitals. General Objective: This study sought to investigate the occurrence, distribution and resistance patterns of Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus on inanimate objects in the Paediatric treatment units of Mulago National Referral hospital. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from June to September 2024 at the Paediatric treatment units of Mulago National Referral Hospital. Random sampling from selected inanimate objects was used to collect samples which were analyzed using standard microbiological methods to assess the occurrence and resistance patterns of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus. Data collected was analyzed using IBM SPSS software. Results: Of the 150 samples collected, 146(97.3%) were positive for growth from which 140 isolates of Staphylococci were obtained. Out of the 140 Staphylococci isolates, 38(27.1%) were Methicillin Resistant of which 34(89.5%) were MRCoNS and 04(10.5%) were MRSA. The susceptibility pattern of MRCoNS and MRSA to other antimicrobial agents revealed that the lowest resistance was to Linezolid and the highest to Trimethoprim/Sulfamethoxazole at 97.4% and 92.1% respectively. Conclusion: The rate of MRCoNS was more than MRSA and Linezolid was the most effective against these organisms.