Antibiotic Potential of Cefuroxime (a Second-Generation Cephalosporin Antibiotic) on Nasal Staphylococcus aureus Isolates

Bacterial resistance to several antibiotics has become an increasing issue in the treatment of bacterial infections including Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus); the most common cause of bacterial infections. The problem has resulted to drug discovery and development and consequently, drug classification into generations. This study therefore investigates the antibiotic potential of Cefuroxine (a second generation Cephalosporin’s known to have a broader spectrum than the first-generation) on nasal S. aureus isolates. In a bid to achieve this objective, nasal swab were collected from undergraduate students in Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma. Following standard laboratory procedures, the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of Cefuroxime was determined and recorded and results presented in simple descriptive statistics and tables. The results showed that S. aureus is a β-Lactamase producing bacterial and that Cefuroxime has antibiotic potential to β-Lactamase producing bacterial. The mean MIC of Cefuroxime was 0.38±0.32µg/ml and ranges from 0.02µg/ml (minimum) to 0.64µg/ml (maximunm). Although the different between the minimum and maximum MICs was statistically significantly (p<0.05), the very low MICs indicated that Cefuroxime is a powerful antibiotic against nasal isolates of S. aureus.