Genetic Diversity Analysis of Virulent Biofilm and and#914;_Lactamases Producing Klebsiella Pneumoniae Isolated from Human Urinary Tract Infections

Abstract

Klebsiella pneumoniae is a significant responsible agent of hospital-acquired infections, including pneumonia, septicemia, liver abscesses, and urinary tract infections. Collaborative initiatives involving antibiotic stewardship programs and healthcare professionals actively implemented to combat the rise of antibiotic-resistant strains. During this study, overall 504 samples were gathered from human urinary tract infections (UTIs) to study the occurance of K. pneumoniae. The analysis revealed total prevalence of Klebsiella species at 23.2% (117 out of 504 samples), with K. pneumoniae specifically accounting for 16.8% (85 out of 504 samples). Disc diffusion testing was conducted for antibiotic susceptibility of 85 K. pneumoniae isolates, and the results indicated concerning levels of antibiotic resistance (ABR). The study revealed significant levels of antibiotic resistance among the Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates, with cefpodoxime showing the highest resistance rate at 76.47%, followed by ampicillin at 70.59%, ceftriaxone at 52.94%, cefoxitin at 50.59%, amoxyclav at 48.24%, ofloxacin at 45.88%, cefotaxime at 44.71%, cefepime at 43.53%, and doxycycline hydrochloride at 40%. Additionally, a smaller percentage of isolates showed resistance to other antibiotics within the limits of 7 to 35%. newlineApproximately 77.6% of these isolates displayed resistance to three or more antimicrobial classes, while 78.82% of the K. pneumoniae isolates exhibited multiple antibiotic resistance (MAR) values greater than 0.2. During this study, 85 K. pneumoniae isolates were screened for virulent genes identification existing of four distinct genes. The most predominant virulent gene was uge, detected in 5 isolates out of 85 (5.88%). This was followed by rmpA, present in 4 isolates (4.70%), kfu in 2 isolates (2.35%), and aerobactin genes in 1 isolate (1.17%). Additionally, the overall percentage of biofilm producers among the isolates was determined to be 17.65% (15 out of 85). newline