Prevalence of asymptomatic urinary tract infections among pregnant women residing in a rural and an urban area in Tanzania

Abstract

A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted. Urine samples were collected using mid-stream "clean catch" method from 192 pregnant women attending antenatal clinics at Muhimbili National Referral Hospital in Dar es Salaam City, and Mkuranga District Hospital in Coast Region. The study aimed to assess the prevalence of asymptomatic urinary tract infections (bacteriuria) among pregnant women residing in rural and urban areas and determine the antibiotic sensitivity profiles of causative pathogens using the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method. Fourteen bacteria were isolated and their prevalence determined as Escherichia coli (64.2 %), Klebsiella pneumoniae (14.3 %), Staphylococcus saprophyticus (7.1 %) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (14.3 %) with the resistance rates of the antibiotics ranging from 30-100 %. Nitrofurantoin showed the lowest resistance (0-33%). The prevalence rates of asymptomatic bacteriuria among pregnant women residing in urban and rural areas were 2.1 and 12.5 %, respectively. All isolated bacteria were resistant to Co-amoxiclav and erythromycin. Nitrofurantoin can thus be used as the first-line drug for treatment of asymptomatic bacteriuria because of the observed lower resistance rate.

Keywords: asymptomatic bacteriuria, antibiotic resistance, pregnant women