Nasal Carriage of Staphylococcus aureus in Preclinical and Clinical Dental Students of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences and Identification of Methicillin-Resistant Isolates in 2019

Introduction Bacterial infection is a global problem. In many cases, bacterial resistance to antimicrobial agents could complicate treatments. Several strains of infectious agents have developed resistance to most of the available antibiotics and therefore, global monitoring has increased to examine antimicrobial resistances. This is particularly true for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) which is one of the most important hospitaland community-related pathogens. Methicillin is a semisynthetic penicillin derivative produced in 1959 and is resistant to beta-lactamase resulting in significant decrease in infections related to penicillin-resistant strains. According to the definition proposed by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, MRSA means resistance to methicillin and other common antibiotics. It has been reported to be found occasionally among people who refer to healthcare systems or have contact with MRSA patients. MRSA colonization is estimated to be around 1.5% in human population one-sixth of which is community-acquired MRSA (CA-MRSA) (1,2). Over the last 45 years, hospital-acquired MRSA (HA-MRSA) and CA-MRSA clones have spread across the world, and there is a high risk of related epidemies. Taking into account the importance of CA-MRSA and HA-MRSA strains, it is vital to identify them and determine their antibiotic resistance patterns in each region in order for helping doctors prescribe effective antibiotics (3). Given the lack of a comprehensive research in East Azerbaijan as well as considering dental students’ close contact with patients and the importance of MRSA strain, the present study aimed to identify the nasal carriage of S. aureus in preclinical and clinical students of dentistry at Tabriz University of Medical Sciences.