Background: The gastrointestinal tract has been recognized as a major ecological site for
Staphylococcus aureus
where it can
reach neighboring sites and cause mild or serious infections.
Objectives: To determine the prevalence of intestinal carriage of
S. aureus in children aged 3 years and below in Ile-Ife,
Nigeria and the antibiotic resistance characteristics of the organisms obtained.
Methods: The organisms isolated in the course of the study were identified by phenotypic and genotypic methods and
screened against 13 antibiotics by conventional methods. A total of 293 subjects were sampled of which 130 were diagnosed
with diarrheal at the time of the study while the rest were apparently healthy.
Results: 14.0% of the faecal samples yielded
S. aureus with the carriage rate among the subjects being found to be highest
at about 1 month approximately in subjected ages. Sixty-five percent of the isolates were found to be resistant to more than
three different antibiotics with more than 50% being resistant to penicillin, erythromycin and trimethoprim.
Conclusions: The results of the study indicated that a reservoir of multiply antibiotic resistant
S. aureus exists in the
gastrointestinal tracts of children living within the study environment.
