en Occupational Health Original Article <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><strong>Background: </strong>Nosocomial infections are an important cause of hospital mortalities. <em>Staphylococcus aureu</em>s (<em>S. aureus</em>) carriers among medical staff are an important source of nosocomial infections. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of the nasal carriers of <em>S. aureu</em>s and antibiotic resistance in staff of Nikuee Hospital, Qom, Iran.</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><strong>Materials and Methods: </strong>In this cross-sectional study, 152 health care workers (HCWs) were assessed to determine the frequency of nasal carriage of <em>S. aureu</em>s, the rates of methicillin-resistant<em> S. aureus </em>(MRSA), and their antibiotic resistance profiles in Nikuee Hospital in 2012. Clinical samples were cultured and <em>S. aureus</em> was detected using conventional bacteriologic methods. Antimicrobial susceptibility patterns against penicillin, vancomycin, erythromycin, clindamycin, cefazolin, co-trimoxazole, and doxycycline were evaluated using the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion technique. Methicillin resistance was confirmed by oxacillin disk diffusion test. Data were analyzed in SPSS software using chi-square test and independent two-sample t-test.</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><strong>Results: </strong>Among the processed samples, 34.2% illustrated nasal carriage of <em>S. aureus, </em>and among them, 23.5% were carriers of<em> MRSA.</em> None of the isolates were resistant to vancomycin. However, 96.1%, 33.3%, 27.5%, 19.6%, 9.8%, and 15.7% resistance to penicillin, erythromycin, clindamycin, cefazolin, co-trimoxazole, and doxycycline were observed. There was no significant relationship between sex, age, and number of years of healthcare service and positive nasal carriage.</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Data obtained in this study revealed high prevalence of nasal carriage of <em>S. aureus</em> (34.2%) in HCWs at Nikuee Hospital. Therefore, it can be concluded that the role of the hospital staff in Nikuee Hospital as a source of staphylococcal infections is prominent. Thus, to prevent nosocomial infections, we recommend the identification and treatment of the carriers among the staff of other hospitals. </span></p> Staphylococcus Aureus, Drug Resistance, Hospital Personnel, Iran 101 106 http://johe.rums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-152-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 N Zia Sheikholeslami n_sheikholeslam@yahoo.com 22400319475328460011785 22400319475328460011785 No Associated Professor of Infectious Diseases, Department of Infectious Diseases, Qom University of Medical Sciences, Qom, Iran M Rezaeian moeygmr2@yahoo.co.uk 22400319475328460011786 22400319475328460011786 No Full professor of Epidemiology and statics, Faculty of medicine, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran A Heidarpoor heidaria90@yahoo.com 22400319475328460011787 22400319475328460011787 No Department of microbiology, Qom university of medical sciences, Qom, Iran M Hadavi Hadavimaryam@yahoo.com 22400319475328460011788 22400319475328460011788 No PhD student, Department of anesthesiology, Rafsanjan Paramedical School, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran M Tashakori m_tashakori44@yahoo.com 22400319475328460011789 22400319475328460011789 Yes Assistant Professor, Department of Laboratory, Rafsanjan Paramedical School, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran