Antibiotic susceptibility of Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated in two university hospitals in Rabat, Morocco

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the in vitro activity of several antimicrobial agents against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). Method: This 2 year study was made in two Moroccan teaching hospitals. Four hundred and sixty-one non-repetitive clinical S. aureus strains were isolated and collected from various samples collected in several units between March 2006 and March 2008. The susceptibility of strains was determined by the agar disk diffusion method. Results: The rate of methicillin resistance was 19.3% for S. aureus isolates. 53.93% of S. aureus strains were resistant to gentamycin, and all strains were susceptible to glycopeptides. Conclusion: The rate of MRSA was high. Resistance to methicillin is often associated with resistance to gentamycin and fluoroquinolones. Vancomycin and teicoplanin were still effective on S. aureus in the two university hospitals. © 2009 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.