Work

Epidemiological and genetic characteristics of clinical carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales isolates from Batna hospitals in Algeria

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales isolates are associated with significant mortality and have emerged as a major problem in healthcare settings worldwide. Our aim was to investigate the epidemiological and genotypic characteristics of carbapenemase-positive Enterobacterales isolates from patients hospitalised in three hospitals in the city of Batna, Algeria. Between 2016 and 2019, a total of 5,316 clinical isolates were obtained. The collected isolates were identified using the VITEK-2 system. Demographic and microbiological data were collected as well as the antimicrobial susceptibility testing, phenotypic and molecular characterisation of carbapenemase and mcr-1 genes were performed. Out of the 5,316 isolates, 201 were carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales isolates and 179 of them (89.05%) were positive for the production of carbapenemase, of which Klebsiella pneumoniae , Escherichia coli and Enterobacter cloacae were the most common. The bla OXA−48−like gene alone was detected in 147 isolates (82.12%) moreover, the bla NDM gene was detected in ten isolates (5.59%). Dual and triple combinations of carbapenemase genes were also observed here for the first time in Algeria: bla VIM and bla OXA−48−like ; bla KPC , bla VIM and bla OXA−48−like ; bla VIM and bla NDM ; bla KPC , bla NDM and bla VIM ; bla NDM and bla OXA−48−like genes. In addition, resistance to both colistin and carbapenem antibiotics was detected in eight isolates, however none of them was positive for the mcr-1 gene. This is the first study reporting the detection of carbapenemase genes in Klebsiella aerogenes , Enterobacter sakazakii , Raoultella ornithinolytica , Serratia ficaria , and Serratia marcescens and specific carbapenemase gene combinations in Algeria. The present study revealed that bla OXA−48−like were found to be the predominant carbapenemase genes in Batna hospitals.

Source: BMC Infectious Diseases

DOI: 10.1186/s12879-024-10300-8