Okunlola I. O. and Ayandele A. A
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is an important human pathogen that causes serious infections both in hospitals and communities globally due to its multidrug resistance tendency. This study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of methicillin-resistant S. aureus and antibiotic sensitivity pattern among pigs in Ilora.Nigeria. Two hundred Nasal swab samples were collected from two hundred pigs in eleven farms in Ilora. The samples were subjected to standard microbiological techniques to identify S. aureus. Resistance to Methicillin was obtained by using Oxacillin. A total of 95 isolates of Staphylococcus spp. were recovered representing 47.5% (95/200) of total isolates, 43.2% (41/95) were identified to be S. aureus while MRSA carriage of 43.9% (18/41) was obtained. Male pigs had the highest prevalence of 55.5% (10/18) MRSA isolates and female pigs had prevalence of 44.5% (8/18). The antibiotic susceptibility profiles of the isolates to the commonly used drugs show high resistance to Cloxacillin (100%), Cephalexin (94.4%), Floxapen (88.9%), Augmentin (70%) and Gentamycin (70%). All isolates were susceptible to Ofloxacin and Ciprofloxacin. The prevalence of 43.9% of MRSA amongst pigs in this region calls for urgent intervention because pigs can serve as reservoir through which this multidrug resistant organism can spread to other animals, humans and community at large. Therefore, proper hygiene practices, control of indiscriminate use of antibiotics, and frequent screening of this population for MRSA, are hereby recommended both for prevention and control of livestock acquired MRSA infections.
