Swimming in Trouble: Recreational Ponds as Hotspots for Multidrug-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Selected Rural Communities of Katsina State, Nigeria

Nigeria grapples with substantial development problems manifest as widespread shortages in potable water and inadequate sanitation, particularly in rural areas where communities depend on untreated natural ponds. Using untreated water sources for domestic and recreational purposes creates environments conducive to acquiring and spreading antimicrobial resistance. Despite this, specific data on multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MDRSA) in these contexts remain limited. To address this data gap, this study investigated the prevalence of MDRSA in rural ponds and among child swimmers in Northern Nigeria. A total of two hundred samples, comprising 188 swabs obtained from the skin, pus, and wounds of swimmers aged 5-15 years, and 12 pond water samples from Marke and Kayauki villages, were obtained and analysed using standard isolation and antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST). Overall, 48% (96) of samples tested positive for S. aureus, with both pond sites showing 100% contamination. Human skin swabs exhibited the highest colonisation at 65.5%. Among the isolates, human-derived S. aureus showed high resistance to tetracycline (72.6%) and erythromycin (58.3%), while environmental isolates had 58.3% resistance to erythromycin. Sixteen MDRSA isolates (10 human, six environmental) were identified, with shared resistance patterns strongly indicating bidirectional transmission between ponds and swimmers. The findings highlight that these natural ponds are significant reservoirs driving MDRSA transmission to vulnerable children, posing a substantial public health risk of potentially catastrophic proportions.