Prevalence of NDM and OXA 48 genes in E.coli and K. pneumoniae isolates from Mulago National Referral Hospital

Abstract

Carbapenems are the drugs of choice for severe ESBL producing Gram negative bacteria. In recent findings Gram negative bacteria in particular E. coli and K. pneumoniae have evolved new genes that is NDM and OXA-48. These code for beta lactamase that hydrolyze and inactivate the Carbapenems. They are the leading causes of nosocomial infections (Charan et al., 2012; Telhig et al., 2020). In recent findings new strains of CRE have risen and threaten the large spectrum of Carbapenems (Patrier & Timsit, 2020). The continued use of Carbapenem through overdose and inappropriate prescription predisposes the human race to development of even more resistant strains that could increase the death rate due to antimicrobial resistance(World Health Statistics, 2011). This study was aimed at determining the prevalence of NDM and OXA-48 genes among E. coli and K. pneumoniae isolates obtained from patients in Mulago National Referral Hospital. This was a cross sectional laboratory based study where 30 E. coli and K.pneumoniae isolates were screened for antimicrobial susceptibility ,and out of 30 samples, only 9 isolates were resistant to meropenem .67% had OXA-48 gene and 33% had NDM gene. According to this study, OXA-48 gene was the most prevalent gene followed by NDM gene. So, there is a great need to revamp infection control measures such as strict antibiotic use, policies to mitigate the rapidly increasing emergence of drug resistance that is ESBL-producing Gram negative bacteria especially the Enterobacteriaceae family