title: Prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus nasal colonization among medical students in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To identify Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) nasal carriage status among medical students during their clinical rotations.
  
  
  METHODS
  This cross-sectional study detected the prevalence of MRSA among medical students at King Abdulaziz University (KAU), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, using molecular approaches. Nasal swabs were collected from 150 internship and sixth-year medical students between September 2014 and January 2015, and compared with the control group of 32 third-year medical students who were not exposed to clinical work. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) screening was performed to identify Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) nucgene, and an additional PCR was performed on S. aureus positive samples to detect the presence of mecA gene.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Out of 150 students screened, 38 were nasal carriers of S. aureus. The prevalence of methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (MSSA) carriers was 18.7% (n=28), whereas 10 students (6.7%) were mecA-positive, representing MRSA carriers. Interns carry MRSA more than 6th year students and students who were not exposed to clinical work (p less than 0.05), while MSSA is found more in students who were not exposed to clinical work (p less than 0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We found MRSA carriers among medical students at KAU, which showed a possible contribution of this group to transmit infection to hospitalized patients. Medical students must receive sufficient knowledge regarding control measures to avoid spread of this infection in hospitals.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. E-mail. szakai@kau.edu.sa.
authors.forename: Shadi A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Zakai
mesh_terms: D002353:Carrier State; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D006801:Humans; D055624:Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D009666:Nose / Q000382:microbiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012529:Saudi Arabia / Q000453:epidemiology; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D013337:Students, Medical