Rationale:MRSA affects patients in hospitals and in the community worldwide. Surprisingly little is known about the epidemiology of MRSA in Indonesia, with 235 million inhabitants the fourth most populous country in the world.Objective:To estimate the prevalence of MRSA among Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from routine clinical specimens in Indonesian hospitals. Methods:This study was coordinated by the Indonesian Society for Clinical Microbiologists (PAMKI). Cohorts of patients were studied in six cities on the main island Java, ( Jakarta, Semarang, Malang, Surabaya, Bandung, Yogyakarta), and in one city (Denpasar) on Bali. Strains of S.aureus consecutively isolated during 5 months from clinical cultures of patients admitted to hospital were included, and tested for resistance using agar diffusion with Cefoxitin 30 µg disks. Cefoxitin resistant strains were confirmed to be MRSA using PBP2a slide latex agglutination.Results:94/ 316 (30%) S.aureus strains identified were MRSA. MRSA prevalence was highest in Jakarta (54%), followed by Semarang (36%), Surabaya (35%), Yogyakarta (31%), Bandung (25%), Malang (23%), and Denpasar (13%). The highest rates were in the surgery unit (19%). Pus, sputum, and blood were the most common clinical specimens from which MSSA (62%, 12%, and 11%) and MRSA (60%, 14%, and 9%) were isolated, respectively.Conclusions:This first multicenter survey showed the prevalence of MRSA among S.aureus isolated from clinical specimens in Indonesian hospitals to be high (30%) with marked geographical variation across the isles of Java and Bali.

Key words : methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Indonesia