Browsing by Author "Zachery Rivera, Kimberly Grassett"
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Item Occurrence of MRSA on Fish in the Hillsborough River(College of Natural and Health Sciences, The University of Tampa, 2017) Zachery Rivera, Kimberly Grassett; Ann Williams; Bridgette FroeschkeMRSA is a drug-resistant strain of Staphylococcus aureus known to cause frequent infections in humans. Water quality assessments have identified MRSA at varying levels throughout the Hillsborough River which indicates that MRSA may be present on the organisms that reside in those waters. In this experiment, Fish were collected from multiple sites throughout the Hillsborough River and swabbed to assess the presence of MRSA on the organism. Bacterial samples were grown on Mannitol Salt Agar, isolated, and tested for drugresistance using the Kirby Bauer Disk Diffusion Assay. MRSA was isolated from the scales and inside the mouths of fish at multiple sites on the Hillsborough River. The presence of MRSA on these fish could potentially pose a health risk to fisherman who encounter the fish harboring MRSA isolates. Fisherman with an open wound on their hand that handle these fish could acquire a MRSA infection and require subsequent medical treatment as a result.