Prevalence of TEM, SHV, and CTX-M Genes among ESBL-Producing and Isolated from Thalassemia Patients in Erbil, Iraq.

BACKGROUND

Due to the recent appearance of organisms that are resistant to several drugs (multidrug-resistant) like Enterobacteriaceae that produce extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL, concerns have remarkably increased regarding the suitable treatment of infections. The present study was an investigation into ESBL molecular characteristics among clinical isolates of and resulting in urinary tract infections (UTIs) and their pattern of antimicrobial resistance in order to come up with helpful information on the epidemiology of these infections and risk factors accompanied with them.

METHODS

In order to conduct the study, 20 and 48 were isolated and retrieved from thalassemia center in Erbil, Iraq during July 2016 and September 2016. The collected strains were analyzed and the profile of their antimicrobial susceptibility was specified. In order to spot β-lactamase genes (i.e. TEM, SHV, and CTX-M), polymerase chain reaction was conducted.

RESULTS

The findings obtained from multiplex PCR assay showed that out of the collected strains of ESBL-producing , had 81% TEM, 16.2% SHV, and 32.4% CTX-M genes. Similarly, 64.7% TEM, 35.2% SHV, and 41.1% CTX-M genes existed in the isolates of . It was found that antibiotic resistance pattern of and isolates to 20 antibiotics varied widely. It was also concluded that the majority of the and isolates were multi-drug resistant (MDR). Moreover, 75% and 87.5% of respectively and isolates showed the MDR phenotypes.

CONCLUSION

TEM prevalence was high among other types of ESBLs. Over all, the most active antimicrobial agents remained to be the carbapenems.