Abdullah DAHIR Aweis ^1* Hassan Ga’al ² Daud Mo'allin Isahaq ¹

• ¹ Al Jazeera University, Mogadishu, Somali, Mogadishu, Somalia
• ² Somali National University, Mogadishu, Somalia

Background: Antibiotic resistance poses a significant threat to healthcare services and Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is common among hospital workers. Currently, there is no research on MRSA and its prevalence in Somalia. This study sought to determine the prevalence of nasal Staphylococcus aureus carriage and the susceptibility pattern of healthcare workers' MRSA isolates. Methods: This cross-sectional, descriptive study involved nasal swab collection from healthcare workers at Banadir Teaching Hospital. Cefoxitin discs were used to identify methicillin-resistant strains, and their antimicrobial susceptibility was evaluated using the Kirby-Bauer (disc diffusion) method. Based on specialty, e.g., pediatrics, obstetrics, gynecology, laboratory, and intensive care unit (ICU), participants were recruited from different wards. Nasal swabs from 215 participants were inoculated on mannitol salt agar, and yellow colonies were aseptically transferred into blood agar, inoculated on DNase agar, and subjected to catalase, coagulase, and gram staining tests. Next, bacterial suspensions were prepared and aseptically inoculated on Mueller-Hinton agar plates, followed by cefoxitin antibiotic (30 μg) disc testing. Staphylococcus aureus was categorized/interpreted based on the zone diameter (nearest whole millimeter) of the cefoxitin discs. Samples with diameters of ≤21 mm were considered to be MRSA) while those with diameters of ≥22 mm were regarded as methicillinsensitive Staphylococcus aureus. Results: Some locations had higher MRSA isolation rates. Ward 16 (postnatal care and neonatal ICU) had the highest MRSA prevalence (n=9, 26.5%), followed by pediatric isolation (n=6, 33.3%), emergency (n=5, 17.9%), and pediatric malnutrition (n=4, 44.4%) wards. A total of 27 (23.70%) MRSA cases were isolated and were susceptible to vancomycin and linezolid. Conclusion: Some hospital locations had higher MRSA prevalence, with the postnatal care, neonatal ICU, and isolation wards having the highest isolation rates.Contribution to the field: MRSA prevalence among healthcare workers in Somalia remains unknown. Overall, this study has the potential to positively impact Somalia's healthcare sector.No animal studies are presented in this manuscript.This study consists of laboratory tests, and there is no interventionNo potentially identifiable human images or data are presented in this study.