Burden of rifampicin resistance in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus among apparently healthy students at the University of Jos, Jos, Nigeria

As a broad-spectrum antibiotic, rifampicin is used to treat staphylococcal infections. Due to its chemical makeup, it can easily get into tissues and abscesses, which majority of the other antibiotics (anti-staphylococcal drugs) have trouble doing. To treat these infections, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates exhibit rapid evolution of rifampicin resistance, necessitating use of costly medicines. This study, therefore, assessed the burden of rifampicin resistance rate among MRSA in Jos, Nigeria. A total of 92 samples were collected from students at the University of Jos. S. aureus was isolated and identified by conventional methods. Susceptibility test was conducted to determine MRSA. After that, the MRSA was challenged with 30 µg of rifampicin using the Kirby–Bauer disk diffusion method. Out of the 92 samples that were isolated, 45 (48.91%) were from female students, while 47 (51.09%) were from male students. 57 (61.96%) samples were positive for S. aureus. Of the 57 (61.96%) S. aureus isolates recovered, 32 (56.14%) were found to be MRSA. These were subjected to rifampicin, and 18 (56.25%) showed resistance. The susceptibility patterns of S. aureus against antibiotics tested showed a susceptibility of 94.74, 77.19, 75.44, 73.68, 71.93, 64.91, 52.63, 43.86, and 31.58% to ofloxacin, clindamycin, chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin, gentamycin, erythromycin, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, cefoxitin, and tetracycline, respectively. It was concluded that MRSA were present in the study population, and a substantial number (56.25%) of these were rifampicin resistant.