Introduction: Staphylococcus Aureus (S. aureus) is a leading cause of gram positive bacterial infections and produces a wide spectrum of diseases. Although S. aureus infections were historically treatable with common antibiotics, emergence of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) in 1960 in hospital-associated settings, and later in community settings imposed a great burden on health care resources.  Several reports have documented MRSA outbreaks in hostels, dormitories and military barracks among inmates. Present study was undertaken in April-May 2015 to investigate an outbreak of CA-MRSA among hostel inmates in Mangalore. Material and Methods: Present study was carried in a nursing college hostel in Mangalore, after its first student was admitted on 04 Aril 2015 with severe skin infection caused by MRSA. Subsequently, 291 suspected hostel inmates were examined and their nasal and skin swabs were sent to hospital laboratory for culture and sensitivity. Results: Out of 291 swabs sent for culture, 51(17.52%) were found to be MRSA positive. Out of these, 34 (66.66%) were nasal and 17 (33.34%) were skin swabs. All isolates were found to be resistant to penicillin, ampicillin and erythromycin, but susceptible to ciprofloxacin, clindamycin, doxycycline, tetracycline, cotrimoxazole and vancomycin. These had the drugresistance pattern of CA-MRSA strains. Conclusion:  Community-based surveillance studies are required to understand how MRSA is transmitted in the community. Besides, development of an epidemiologic surveillance system would further identify CA-MRSA prevalence and the associated risk factors.

Keywords: CA-MRSA; Culture; Resistance; Outbreak; Prevention.