Prevalence of CTXM-resistant gene among enterobacteriaceae isolates from Clinical Microbiology Laboratory at the College of Health Sciences Makerere University

Abstract

Background: Antimicrobial resistance refers to the inability to effectively prevent and cure a growing number of illnesses caused by microorganisms. It has become an alarming global issue. CTX-M genes are a complex family of genes that encodes for ESBLs. Recent research has demonstrated a high prevalence of CTX-M genes in Enterobacteriaceae. This study sought to determine the prevalence of CTXM in Enterobacteriaceae isolates in Clinical Microbiology, at Makerere University. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on Enterobacteriaceae isolates collected between July 2022 and August 2022 from Clinical Microbiology. The isolates were picked by simple random sampling and taken to the Molecular biology laboratory. DNA was extracted from the Enterobacteria using the CTAB method. PCR was carried out on 57 samples and the amplicons were run on Agarose gel to visualize the bands. Data were analyzed using Microsoft excel. Results: This study showed Klebsiella Pneumonia as the most prevalent bacteria in samples of Clinical Microbiology. There were 18% of the 57 samples with CTX-M gene. Ecoli was the least frequent Enterobacteriaceae. Conclusion: In Clinical Microbiology laboratory, only 13 of the 57 samples tested for the presence of CTX-M enzymes and these pose a serious threat to the treatment of bacterial infections.