Staphylococcus aureus from the Microbial Load of Open Wounds from Patients Attending Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano, Nigeria

Staphylococci are part of human flora found in the axillae, the inguinal, perineal areas, other parts of the skin, and the anterior nares [1]. Persistent carriage is more common in children than in adults. Nasal carriers may be divided into persistent carriers with high risk of infection and intermittent or noncarriers with low risk of infection [2]. It was reported that, among healthy adults, carrier rates of 11-32% were detected in the general population, and a prevalence of 25% was detected in hospital personnel [3]. Wertheim et al. [4] stated that between 25% and 35% of healthy human carry S. aureus on the skin or mucous membranes. It is also one of the most common pathogens that causes skin infections and when left untreated, disorders associated with this organism may progress into a wider range of conditions like tissue infections, pneumonia, wound, joint, and/or bone infections [5-7]. Most staphylococcal infections can be easily treated with antibiotics; however, in recent years Staphylococcus found its way to resist the commonly used and effective antibiotics; like macrolides, lincosamides, tetracycline, gentamicin, and betalactams, particularly methicillin [5-9]. Staphylococcus aureus is a versatile pathogen capable of growth and infection under diverse conditions. It has an extremely elastic genome capable of high variability and is known to acquire genes from closely related species. It causes a wide spectrum of afflictions [10]. It is the leading cause of skin and soft tissue infections such as folliculitis and furunculosis, and it is the pathogen most often implicated in wound infections resulting from surgery or trauma. Thus, S. aureus is of major significance in both community-onset and healthcare-associated infections [11].