Occurrence, species distribution and antibiotic resistance of Proteus isolates: A case study at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Ghana (original) (raw)
Background and purpose: Different Proteus species may vary with the type of infections they cause in both the community and hospital environments. However, in many laboratories in developing countries, differentiation of the genus Proteus into species is not generally done during bacteriological diagnosis due to high cost and special skills involved. This study aimed at determining the prevalence of different Proteus species in KATH, their antibiotic resistance pattern and how they relate to patients' demographic data. Method: This is a prospective study involving the analyses of clinical samples for Proteus species and determining their antimicrobial susceptibility pattern. Results: Two hundred Proteus species were isolated from 2361 clinical specimens obtained from patients suspected of bacterial infection, giving 8.4 % prevalence of Proteus infections. Wound isolates were the highest (64.5 %) followed by ear swab. Three Proteus species; P. mirabilis, P. vulgaris and P. penneri were recovered from the samples. P. mirabilis was the commonest species (61.5 %), and hence the causative species of a majority of Proteus infections followed by P. vulgaris (30.5 %), and P. penneri (8 %). There was no significant difference between the out-patient and in-patient cases, just as there were no preferences for gender or age of the patients. All the species were resistant to chloramphenicol, ampicillin and co-trimoxazole. About 72.9 % of the isolates produced βlactamase and 88.5 % were resistant to more than 2 antibiotics. P. penneri was the most resistant among the recovered species. Conclusion: The three Proteus species recovered in KATH were all resistant to ampicillin, tetracycline, chloramphenicol and co-trimoxazole. These drugs are no longer useful in empirical treatment of Proteus infections at KATH. This study has also provided information for use in generating national data on the prevalence of antimicrobial resistant pathogens in Ghana. enterobacteriaceae and perhaps salmonellae since indiscriminate ingestion of antibiotics provides selective pressure, leading to a higher prevalence of resistant bacteria which is very common in developing countries like Ghana. Not only are these species potential causes of infections but also potential reservoirs of resistance genes that could be transferred to other bacterial pathogens. The high levels of β-lactamase production and multi-drug resistance of the isolates are indications of an increase in the resistance menace reported by earlier studies in Ghana.
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