Multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus Statistical analysis Frequencies were obtained, and percentages were calculated for the study variables. The demographic characteristics were compared using the chi-square test (two-tailed) and using the SPSS software (ver- sion 15). All reported p values were two-sided, and p value of less than or equal to 0.05 (p≤0.05) was considered significant. RESULTS Analysis of questionnaire Copies of the questionnaire were retrieved from all the study subjects. Twenty-nine (24.2%) of them were aged 15-19 years, 65 (54.1%) were aged 20-25 years, and 26 (21.7%) were aged above 25 years. Fifty-four (45%) of the subjects (students and villagers) used antibiotics on self-medications, of whom 34 (63%) were villagers while the remain- ing 20 (37%) were students (Table 1). The observed difference in the use of antibiotics between the two groups was significant (p=0.01). Twenty-six (43.3%) students and 32 (53.3%) villagers used antibiotics for reasons other than treatment of dis- eases (Table 2), the difference of which was not sig- nificant (p=0.273). Twenty-five (41.7%) students and 10 (16.7%) villagers judiciously used their pre- scribed antibiotics (Table 3), the difference of which Onanuga A and Temedie TC. furoxime, augmentin, ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin, and gentamicin. The differences observed in bacterial resistance to various antimicrobial agents between the two groups of subjects were not significant (p>0.05) (Table 5). The antimicrobial resistance pat- terns of the isolates from females and the isolates from males were compared, and a marked differ- ence was observed only in doxycycline (p=0.013), with the females having the highest doxycycline- resistant isolates. MRSA (resistance to cefoxitin) was detected in 13 (34.2%) of the 38 isolates, all of which were resistant to three or more agents tested. Isolates with reduced susceptibility to vancomycin (MIC >4 µg/mL) were 14 (36.8%), of which eight were MRSA. Multidrug resistance Multiple drug resistance in this study of healthy volunteers was taken as resistant to three or more antimicrobial drugs, and 25 (65.8%) of the isolates were multidrug-resistant. About one-fourth (23.7%) of the isolates were resistant to four drugs of dif- ferent resistance combinations. Ampicillin was the most frequently-occurring antibiotic in all the pat- terns of resistance combinations while co-trimox- azole, doxycycline, and chloramphenicol resistance combinations occurred in only two isolates, and the remaining combinations were all different. The JHPN Table 1. Use of antibiotics by study subjects Students (n=60) Villagers (n=60) Type of use No. % No. % Use of antibiotics on self-medications Use of antibiotics on doctor’s prescriptions 20 40 33.3 66.7 34 26 was highly significant (p=0.003). The distribution of the antimicrobial agents used on self-medication by the subjects is shown in the Figure. Prevalence of S. aureus In total, 38 (31.7%) isolates of S. aureus were de- tected from 120 stool samples screened, with 18 (30.0%) from the villagers and 20 (33.3%) from the students (Table 4). The observed differences in the yield of the organism between the two groups of subjects and between their sexes were not signifi- cant (p>0.05). Antimicrobial resistance profile The isolates generally showed high resistance to ampicillin, doxycycline, co-trimoxazole, erythro- mycin, and chloramphenicol. However, low levels of resistance were exhibited by the isolates to ce- 448 Total (n=120) No. % 54 66 45.0 55.0 p value 0.01 0.01 56.7 43.3 Reason Table 2. Reasons for antibiotic use by study subjects Students (n=60) No. % Villagers (n=60) No. % Without any reason 0 0.0 4 6.7 Prevention of infection only 10 16.7 17 28.3 Treatment of diseases only 34 56.7 28 46.7 Both prevention and treatment 16 26.7 11 18.3 The p value for reasons other than treatment of diseases only in both the groups=0.273