Abstract
Background Staphylococcus aureus, a facultative aero-anaerobic Gram-positive coccus typically considered normal flora in the human gastrointestinal tract, have increasingly become a major cause of healthcare-associated infections over the past decade. This study aimed to evaluate the changes in immune factors in pregnant women colonized by S. aureus in the town of Bafang, West Region of Cameroon. Methods A cross-sectional study was carried in antenatal care unit in various health center in Bafang. S. aureus were isolated in stools using specific bacterial culture media. Antimicrobial susceptibility test was carried out using disk diffusion method. Blood was used to measure CD3, CD4 and CD8 T-cell lymphocyte counts, white blood cell count, high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and interleukin-6 measurement using flow cytometry, optical detection and the ELISA solid phase direct sandwich method, respectively. Results Out of the 169 patients studied, 76.30% patients were pregnant women and 23.70% were non-pregnant women. S. aureus were isolated in 70.41% participants that is, 78.15% in pregnant and 21.85% in non-pregnant women. The mean age was significantly higher in non-pregnant women (29.38 ± 7.685 years) compared to pregnant women (25.55 ± 5.521 years). CD4 T-cell (574.80 ± 165.94; 754.03 ± 162.28, p < 0.001), were significantly lower in pregnant than non-pregnant women respectively, contrary for CD8 T-cell (333.86 ± 233.04; 250.40 ± 227.75, p = 0.043). S. aureus were significantly more isolated in pregnant women with a CD4 T-cell count between 410 and 625 cells/µl (p < 0.001). S. aureus were more susceptible to imipenem (91.40%), (100%); ciprofloxacin (65.59%), (69.44%); amikacin (96.77%), (100%) and resistant to chloramphenicol (78.49%), doxycycline (64.52%) and cefotaxime (51.61%) in pregnant women. Staphylococcus aureus showed a significant increased multidrug resistant (MDR) and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) phenotypes in pregnant compared to non-pregnant women (p < 0.05). Conclusion The present study revealed that, Staphylococcus aureus, including resistant phenotypes should be considered in pregnant women to improve their health care.