Evaluation of antibiotic resistance and prevalence of multi-antibiotic resistant genes among Acinetobacter baumannii strains isolated from patients admitted to al-yarmouk hospital

Emerging antibiotic resistance in microorganisms particularly multidrug-resistant strains among bacteria are increasing because of misusing antibiotics as well as evolution of antibiotic resistance mechanisms. In this regard, Acinetobacter baumannii is one of the six most common multidrug-resistant microorganisms in hospitals. Recently, carbapenems, as common antibiotics to treat infections of Acinetobacter have not an acceptable efficiency because of the resistance emergence to these antibiotics in many strains.  In this study, resistant strains of A. baumannii were isolated and identified as an appropriate preventive strategy to reduce infections in hospitals. Disc diffusion test and PCR method were used to isolate of resistant strains and identify beta-lactamase genes of blaAmpC, blaTEM, blaVIM, and blaSHV. This study showed that these genes were contributed in antibiotic resistance with about ۱۸.۴% and ≥۵۳.۵% strains expressing all ۴ genes and ≥۳ genes, respectively. The blaAmpC gene is more prevalent than other genes, and this is probably due to the prevalence or rapid transfer of this beta-lactamase. However, more studies should be performed in a comparative way to isolate and identify other antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains relate to other hospitals.

Keywords:

nosocomial infections , antibiotic-resistant bacteria , carbapenems , antibacterial activity , beta-lactamase genes , the blaAmpC gene