Prevalence Of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Colonization Among Surgical Health Care Workers At A Tertiary Care Hospital In Southeastern China

•Carriage rates of S. aureus and MRSA among healthcare workers (HCWs) at a tertiary-care hospital in southeastern China.•Of 242 HCWs, 70 (28.9%) were pharyngeal carriers of S. aureus, of whom 10 (4.1%) carried MRSA.•Carriage rates of S. aureus and MRSA among surgical HCWs were 30.0% and 4.3%, respectively.•MRSA isolates were resistant to erythromycin, with a significantly higher resistance percentage than MSSA isolates.•Two MRSA with the same PFGE pattern were found, signifying that MRSA transmission might be occurring between surgical HCWs.