High prevalence of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus in the surgical units of Mulago hospital in Kampala, Uganda

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There is limited data on Methicillin resistant <it>Staphylococcus aureus </it>(MRSA) in Uganda where, as in most low income countries, the routine use of chromogenic agar for MRSA detection is not affordable. We aimed to determine MRSA prevalence among patients, healthcare workers (HCW) and the environment in the burns units at Mulago hospital, and compare the performance of CHROMagar with oxacillin for detection of MRSA.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>One hundred samples (from 25 patients; 36 HCW; and 39 from the environment, one sample per person/item) were cultured for the isolation of <it>Staphylococcus aureus</it>. Forty one <it>S. aureus </it>isolates were recovered from 13 patients, 13 HCW and 15 from the environment, all of which were oxacillin resistant and <it>mecA/femA/nuc</it>-positive. MRSA prevalence was 46% (41/89) among patients, HCW and the environment, and 100% (41/41) among the isolates. For CHROMagar, MRSA prevalence was 29% (26/89) among patients, HCW and the environment, and 63% (26/41) among the isolates. There was high prevalence of multidrug resistant isolates, which concomitantly possessed virulence and antimicrobial resistance determinants, notably biofilms, hemolysins, toxin and <it>ica </it>genes. One isolate positive for all determinants possessed the <it>bhp </it>homologue which encodes the biofilm associated protein (BAP), a rare finding in human isolates. SCC<it>mec </it>type I was the most common at 54% prevalence (22/41), followed by <it>SCCmec </it>type V (15%, 6/41) and <it>SCCmec </it>type IV (7%, 3/41). <it>SCCmec </it>types II and III were not detected and 10 isolates (24%) were non-typeable.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Hyper-virulent methicillin resistant <it>Staphylococcus aureus </it>is prevalent in the burns unit of Mulago hospital.</p

Crop-livestock-tree integration in Uganda: The case of Mukono-Wakiso innovation platform

Mukono and Wakiso are two districts where Humidtropics has one of its field sites in the Lake Victoria Crescent Zone of Uganda. This peri-urban area is highly populated, reducing the acreage under agriculture and threatening food security. The two districts have a booming business of real estate; many city entrants are opting to construct houses in either Mukono or Wakiso district. This increases competition for the land uses and exerts pressure on natural resources such as forests and wetlands. The districts are close to Kampala, the capital of Uganda, providing a big market opportunity for the farmers’ produce. Despite the business opportunities, the two districts have high youth unemployment close to the national average of 62 per cent, posing a challenge and opportunity for the IP (UBOS, 2002)

Crop-livestock-tree integration in Uganda: The case of Mukono-Wakiso innovation platform

Mukono and Wakiso are two districts where Humidtropics has one of its field sites in the Lake Victoria Crescent Zone of Uganda. This peri-urban area is highly populated, reducing the acreage under agriculture and threatening food security. The two districts have a booming business of real estate; many city entrants are opting to construct houses in either Mukono or Wakiso district. This increases competition for the land uses and exerts pressure on natural resources such as forests and wetlands. The districts are close to Kampala, the capital of Uganda, providing a big market opportunity for the farmers’ produce. Despite the business opportunities, the two districts have high youth unemployment close to the national average of 62 per cent, posing a challenge and opportunity for the IP (UBOS, 2002)