Prevalance of ESBL and carbapenemase-producing klebsiella pneumoniae from clinical isolates at Makerere University Medical Microbiology Labaratory.

Abstract

Klebsiella pneumoniae is known normal flora of the gastrointestinal tract of humans. It belongs to the family Enterobacteriaceae and is associated with pneumonia in immunocompromised hosts. Other disease caused by K.pneumoniae include urinary tract infections, abdominal infections and bloodstream infections. Antibiotic resistance associated with extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs) and carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae is profound in healthcare settings. This is attributed to the presence of bacteria like K. pneumoniae with hospitals, as nosocomials. These bacteria are harbored by healthcare workers, support staff and patients, but are also present on commonly touched surfaces such tap handles, door handles, patient beds and the floors. Studies done elsewhere show and increased prevalence of ESBL and Carbapenemase- klebsiella pneumonia in healthcare settings. However, information regarding the prevalence of such resistant bacteria is lacking in our setting. Therefore, our study aimed at determining the prevalence of ESBL and carbapenemase producing K. pneumoniae among clinical isolates at the Medical Microbiology laboratory. Our study was a retrospective study to collect data in the Makerere medical microbiology laboratory of the confirmed Klebsiella pneumoniae that were ESBL and Carbapenemase producing. We used a quantitative tool to collect data of 106 samples of klebsiella pneumoniae identified isolates. We found an increased frequency (83.96%) of Klebsiella pneumonia ESBL producing isolates as compared to those that are carbapenemase producing (7.55%).This proportion was higher than that found in earlier studies by Kateregga et al., 2015 and Kung et al., 2015, at 62% and 13.5% respectively. Therefore, our study revealed a higher prevalence of ESBL producing Klebsiella pneumonia within the same setting.