PLASMID PROFILES OF KLEBSIELLA ISOLATES IN ILORIN, NIGERIA

Abstract

Antibiotic resistant organisms are most common in locations where antibiotics are in great use. This accounts for the fact that hospitals harbor many antibiotic resistant bacteria. It is not surprising that antibiotic-resistant organisms are more common in certain parts of the world, particularly in developing countries, which probably results from the over use of antibiotics. Many of this resistance in bacteria are mediated by plasmids. This study was carried out to identify factors responsible for poor clinical outcome in Klebsiella infections due to antibiotic resistance, and to detect the type of plasmids harbored by various strains of Klebsiella. Three hundred Klebsiella spp. were isolated from various clinical samples at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital and biochemically characterized. Five species were identified based on biochemical characteristics; K. pneumoniae, K. rhinoscleromatis, K. ozaenae, K. planticola and K. oxytoca. Plasmid was extracted and analyzed by Birnboim and Doly method. 55 (18.3%) had plasmids of different molecular weight with sizes ranging between 1.1 and 8.0 kb. Species that harbor plasmids are K. pneumoniae and K. oxytoca. It appears that plasmid is naturally occurring in some strains, but the incidence of plasmid is probably higher in areas where antibiotics are readily available to the general populace.


Afr. J. Clin. Exper. Microbiol. 2004; 5(2): 177-181.