Prevalence, antimicrobial resistance profile, and characterization of multi-drug resistant bacteria from various infected wounds in North Egypt.

Multi-drug resistant (MDR) bacteria associated with wounds are extremely escalating. This study aims to survey different wounds in Alexandria hospitals, North Egypt, to explore the prevalence and characteristics of MDR bacteria for future utilization in antibacterial wound dressing designs. Among various bacterial isolates, we determined 22 MDR bacteria could resist different classes of antibiotics. The collected samples exhibited the prevalence of mono-bacterial infections (60%), while 40% included poly-bacterial species due to previous antibiotic administration. Moreover, Gram-negative bacteria showed dominance with a ratio of 63.6%, while Gram-positive bacteria reported 36.4%. Subsequently, the five most virulent bacteria were identified following the molecular approach by 16S rRNA and physiological properties using the VITEK 2 automated system. They were deposited in GenBank as MST1 (KY550377), MST2 (KY550378), MST3 (KY550379), MST4 (KY550380), and MST5 (KY550381). In terms of isolation source, MST1 was isolated from a traumatic wound, while MST2 and MST4 were procured from hernia surgical wounds, and MST3 and MST5 were obtained from diabetic foot ulcers. Antibiotic sensitivity tests exposed that MST3, MST4, and MST5 are extended-spectrum -lactamases (ESBLs) bacteria. Moreover, MST1 belongs to the methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative (MRCoNS), whereas MST2 exhibited resistance to common empirical bactericidal antibiotics. Overall, the study provides new insights into the prevalent MDR bacteria in Egypt for further use as specific models in formulating antibacterial wound dressings.