Abstract:
This study is aimed to investigate culturable airborne bacteria concentrations and the composition of
methicillin-resistant staphylococci in eleven different locations on the basis of specifi c activities conducted within
different parts of the European side of Istanbul. The highest bacterial levels were observed at the Bakirkoy station
(1 100 CFU/m3
) while the second highest levels were found at the Bahcelievler station (1 040 CFU/m3
) in October;
the lowest levels (10 CFU/m3
) were measured at other different stations (Atakoy, Yesilkoy). Fifteen methicillin-
-resistant isolates [Staphylococcus hominis (n=11), S. cohnii spp. cohnii (n=2), S. sciuri (n=1), S. capitis spp. capitis
(n=1)] were identifi ed. The disc diffusion method was used to identify the antimicrobial resistance of these isolates, it
was observed that the most common resistance was to penicillin (P) (n=11), doxycycline (DO) (n=4) and tetracycline
(T) (n=5). None of the isolates was resistant to imipenem, amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, vancomycin (IPM, AMC, VA).
However, multiple antimicrobial resistance was found to be 26.7%. The results of this study revealed the importance
of isolated methicillin-resistant staphylococci in the stations with densely active human population and traffi c, for
public health. As a result, the importance of resting along known shorelines, where culturable airborne bacteria
concentrations are much lower, and its importance for human health have been emphasized.
