Nasal and vaginal colonization of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in pregnant women in Cartagena, Colombia Colonización nasal y vaginal por Staphylococcus aureus resistente a meticilina en mujeres embarazadas en Cartagena, Colombia

Summary Introduction: The host niche for Staphylococcus aureus (SA) are the anterior nares; however, vaginal colonizationrates between 14% and 17.1% in pregnant women have been recently reported, raising interest about the potentialrisk in postpartum women and in neonates from colonized mothers.Objectives: To determine the prevalence of nasal and vaginal colonization of SA and the antibiotic susceptibilityof the isolates in pregnant women attending a maternity hospital in Cartagena, Colombia.Methods: Nasal and vaginal swabs were obtained from participants and subjected to microbiological andmolecular assays. A post discharge follow-up was performed for up to four weeks.Results: From 100 pregnant women enrolled in the study, 34 were colonized with SA; 29 only in the nares, threeonly in the vagina, and two at both sites. Colonization of pregnant women with SA was more common in the naresthan in the vagina or at both sties [29/34 (85.3%) vs 3/34 (8.8%) and 2/34 (5.9%); p<0.05] W. e obtained 36 SA isoatl es,nine (25%) of which were methicillin-resistant