Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus colonization in Iranian Health Care Workers: A Systemic Review and Meta-Analysis

 Staphylococcus Aureus (SA) and especially Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) remains a major cause of healthcare-associated infections worldwide. Health Care Workers (HCWs) may act as reservoirs for transmission of MRSA to patients and other HCWs. The aim of this systematic review was to investigate the prevalence of SA and MRSA colonization among HCWs in Iran. The used keywords for searching were: “Iran”, “S. aureus” and “MRSA” conducted in PubMed, and Google Scholar, and two national scientific databases and proceedings of recent national conferences. The studies related to SA or MRSA prevalence in Iran published  from 1993 to 2018 were included for review. Meta-analysis was performed using the OpenMeta[Analyst] software. Results showed that the prevalence of SA among HCWs was 26% [95% CI= 19.4-32.6%]. The ratios of MRSA/total isolated SA and MRSA/total HCWs were obtained 35.4% (95% CI= 29.6-41.1%) and 7.6% [95% CI= 6.4-8.8%], respectively. Older studies showed a higher prevalence compared to recent studies. The prevalence of nasal MRSA carriage among Iranian HCWs was in a range between the rates reported in the U.S/European and African countries.