Vancomycin antibiotic is a well-known drug of last resort in the treatment of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA),but recent studies have shown the emergence of resistance to vancomycin and other antibiotics. This study determinesthe phenotypic and genotypic prevalence ofvancomycin resistant S. aureus (VRSA) among clinical isolates in ZariaMetropolis. A total of 350 suspected Staphylococcal isolates from clinical specimens (blood, urine, high vaginal swab, wound swab, ear swab, urethral swab) submitted to the Medical Microbiology Unit of theselected hospitals in Zariawere collected for the period of 6 months. The antibiotic susceptibility profile of MRSA isolates were determinedusing disc diffusion method while the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for vancomycin was determined usingEtest® gradient method. PCR and sequencing were conducted on the isolates to molecularly detect the presence ofmecAand van genes (vanA, vanB, vanC, vanD, vanRand vanXY). Phenotypic VRSA evaluationshowed that 3.92%of S. aureus isolates were VRSA, 19.6% of isolates were VISA (vancomycin intermediate S. aureus) and 76.47% ofisolates were VSSA (vancomycin susceptible S. aureus). Twelve (12) isolates that had vancomycin MIC range of 4-16μg/ml were selected for genotypic evaluation of virulent genes. All isolates amplified with 16SrRNA signifying all areS. aureus. The result shows that 58% of the isolates harbors mecAgene, 25% of isolates harbors vanAgene, 67%vanBgene, 41.7% vanC, 58.3% vanD, 83.3% vanRand 83.3% vanXY. The presence of van gene was implicated ingeneration of Vancomycin resistance isolates

Keywords: MRSA, VRSA, Van genes