S Ahmed Hasan - Department of Biology, College of Education of Pure Science Kirkuk University, Iraq
T Fakhraddin Raheem - Basic Science Department, Faculty of Dentistry, Al. Kitab University, Iraq
H Mohammed Abdulla - Basic Science Department, Faculty of Dentistry, Al. Kitab University, Iraq

Klebsiella pneumoniae is globally responsible for hospital- and community-acquired infections. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of K. pneumoniae and investigate the antibiotic resistance profile among clinical specimens at Azadi Teaching Hospital in Kirkuk, Iraq, and detect the rpoB gene for molecular identification of  K. pneumoniae in comparison with phenotypic and biochemical methods. In total, ۲۵۰ clinical specimens were collected from patients in Azadi Teaching Hospital in Kirkuk, Iraq, between January ۲۰۱۸ and May ۲۰۱۸. The isolates were identified by morphologic and biochemical testing. Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method was used in the antibiotics susceptibility test. Following that, ۱۹ (۷.۶%) K. pneumoniae isolates were isolated from ۲۵۰ clinical specimens (۵ [۵.۶۱%] and ۱۴ [۸.۶۹%] from males and females, respectively), and most of them (n=۱۲; ۱۱.۷۶%) were isolated from the age group of ۱۰-۳۵ years old. The isolates were reported high resistance towards various types of antibiotics, especially penicillins and cephalosporins. In contrast, K. pneumoniae showed very low resistance to imipenem and amikacin (۵.۲۶% and ۱۰.۵۲%, respectively). The range of multidrug-resistant K. pneumoniae isolates in this study was estimated at ۱۰۰%. In gene detection, all isolates in this study showed PCR product with ۱۰۸ bp by K. pneumonia specific primer (rpoB). Developed antibiotic policies and regular surveillance of antibiotic susceptibility patterns may help to overcome the indiscriminate use of antibiotics that is a major cause of the emergence of drug resistance among pathogens.

K. pneumoniae, Multidrug Resistance, Rpob Gene