WHAT IS MRSA

In MILK: Nov 2017

In FISH: Aug 2017

In POULTRY: Feb 2018

IN HOSPITALS

Gujarat has been a sitting duck to the emerging threat of deadly superbugs. Now one such bacteria, the drug resistant Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a ‘hospital superbug’, is spreading fast and turning up even in poultry, milk and fish products in Gujarat. It is one of those rogue bacteria that can thwart curing properties of most known antibiotics and prove life-threatening.MRSA is being reported by government veterinary and agriculture institutes, fisheries and even by a study of a poultry product. MRSA infects skin and soft tissue, the bloodstream, and may cause pneumonia in humans.The story of MRSA (or ‘Mersa’ as its pronounced) in Gujarat goes back to 2008, when the Gujarat Cancer Research Institute (GCRI) began disease surveillance as part of the Indian Network for Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance (INSAR). GCRI approached OPD patients and collected 722 Staphylococcus aureus samples from skin and soft tissue infections, blood stream infections and respiratory infections. Of these samples, 57% turned out to contain MRSA.As recently as in February 2018, at SSG Hospital, of 40 low birth-weight newborns with sepsis — a potentially life-threatening condition caused by the body’s response to an infection — nearly 17 showed presence of MRSA.Since the drivers of antimicrobial resistance include antimicrobial use and abuse in human, animal, and environmental sectors, researchers have now demanded a ‘One Health’ approach — which envisions a collaborative effort of multiple health science professions for people, domestic animals, wildlife, plants, and our environment.Ahmedabad’s NHL Medical College’s department of microbiology studied 1,002 bacterial isolates from wounds and pus samples of various patients in April 2018 and 96 samples were found to have MRSA. In Bhuj, from a total of 186 children reporting urinary tract infections (UTIs) between December 2016 and June 2017, 10% of urine cultures were found to contain MRSA."In nature, about 10% of bacteria are gram positive, and MRSA is one such bacteria," says disease expert Dr Bhavini Shah. She adds that the bigger challenge is the growing antibiotic resistance in the 90% gram negative bacteria, as most people get infected by them in India."To fight antibiotic resistance, we need coordinated action in society," says Shah. She adds, "In MRSA cases, we have strict treatment policies. Patients with previous history of MRSA and those who have freshly contracted it are given the antibiotic Vancomycin, an uncommon antibiotic," Shah said.Today, almost a decade after it was first noticed in Gujarat, studies suggest that MRSA was found in poultry meat in Anand district when tests were conducted by the Anand Agriculture University in February 2018.From salt-treated ribbonfish in Veraval , the Regional Centre of ICAR-Central Institute of Fisheries Technology isolated a gene that causes resistance in MRSA. From 55 milk samples taken from animals having Staphylococcus aureus-caused bovine mastitis — persistent inflammation of the udder tissue — by the Department of Veterinary Microbiology of Dantiwada Agricultural University, 11 were found to have MRSA.Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a strain of staphylococcus resistant to many antibiotics. Normally, the bacteria lives in the nose and on the skin and generally doesn’t cause any harm. However, when they go resistant like MRSA and multiply uncontrollably, it could be dangerous.Agency: Department of Veterinary Microbiology, Sardarkrushinagar Dantiwada Agricultural University,Staphylococcus aureus (S.aureus) causes bovine mastitis. The study investigated the incidence of MRSA in milk samples collected from animals having bovine mastitis. Of 11 milk samples, 4 tested positive for MRSA, which also showed presence of mecA gene that showed maximum identity with the Human MRSA isolates which indicated that cross species spilling of MRSA had rendered it as one of the important zoonotic bacteriaAgency: The Regional Centre of ICAR-Central Institute of Fisheries Technology, Veraval,A draft genome sequence of a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was isolated from salted dried ribbonfish from Veraval in Gujarat. Scientists at the CIFT institute isolated methicillin resistant mecA and femA genes from the fish samplesAgency: Department of Veterinary Public Health and Epidemiology, Anand Agricultural UniversityThe study investigated occurrence of MRSA in raw poultry meat. A total of 23 Staphylococcus aureus isolates were obtained. Among the 23 isolates, 4 (1.6%) tested positive for MRSA and the mecA gene — found in bacterial cells, which allows bacteria to resist antibiotics such as methicillin, penicillin and similar drugs.Symptoms: Most often, the staph bacteria causes mild infections on the skin, like sores or boils, but once they turn resistant they can also cause more serious skin infections or infect surgical wounds, the bloodstream, the lungs, or the urinary tract. MRSA is very contagious and can spread through direct contact.SURENDRANAGAR: November 2017Agency: Microbiology Dept, GMERS Medical College, JunagadhIn a study at the government tertiary hospital in Surendranagar, 194 Staphylococcus aureus bacterial samples from patients were isolated. Of these, 69 were positive for MRSA. Overall prevalence of MRSA was 35.56%. The greatest occurrence of MRSA was in the medicine ward (45.31%), followed by the surgery ward (21.87%) and the orthopedic ward (15.62%). MRSA occurred most often in pus samples (43.75%) followed by urine (26.56%), wound swabs (12.5%), sputum (10.93%), blood (3.12%) and body fluids (1.56%).AHMEDABAD:March-April 2018Agency: Department of Microbiology, NHL Medical CollegeIn a study of 1,002 bacterial isolates from pus and wounds of patients, 261 samples were found to contain Staphylococcus aureus and of these, 96 had MRSA. These were 100% sensitive to antibiotics such as linezolid and vancomycin, 65% sensitive to gentamicin and 74.6% sensitive to doxycycline .VADODARA: February 2018Agency: Departmentof Pediatrics, SSG Hospital, VadodaraAlmost 40 newborn babies with suspected sepsis were tested. The most common bacteria for early onset of sepsis were Klebsiella, Pseudomonas and MRSA, contributing 17% each to the bacteriological profile.RAJKOT: November 2018Agency: Department of Microbiology, PDU Medical CollegeSome 300 samples taken from various sites in the hospital were found to have Staphylococcus aureus. Of the 300 samples, 76 (25%) were found to have MRSA. Hospital-acquired MRSA was more common than community-acquired MRSA. All the clinical samples were resistant to penicillin, 48.68% to ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin, 23% to cotrimoxazole, 9.21% to tetracycline, 6.57% to gentamycin, 3.94% to chloramphenicol. All the samples were sensitive to linezolid, vancomycin and rifampicin.