Prevalence of Enterobacteriaceae from clinical isolates in Federal Teaching Hospital Gombe, Nigeria

Abstract

Enterobacteriaceae is a family of Gram-negative, oxidase-negative, and catalase-positive bacteria mostly found in Humans and animals' intestines. Some of these organisms are enteric opportunistic pathogens associated with urinary tract infections, respiratory tract infections, and wound infections, whereas others are regularly pathogenic for humans. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of Enterobacteriaceae in clinical samples from Federal Teaching Hospital Gombe between August 2022 and November 2022. A total of 420 non-duplicate isolates from various clinical samples were analyzed in the study. The isolates were identified based on cultural characteristics, Gram staining, and standard biochemical tests. Out of the 420 isolates identified, Escherichia coli was the most prevalent with 163(38.8%) isolates, followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae with 69(16.4%), Klebsiella oxytoca with 61(14.5%), Proteus spp. 28(6.7%), Citrobacter spp. 27(6.4%), Enterobacter spp. 22(5.2%), Serratia marcescens 13(3.1%), Providencia spp. 12(2.9%), Yersinia enterocolitica 11(2.6%), Morganella morganii 3(0.7%) and Salmonella spp. with 2(0.5%). Based on clinical specimens, urine had the highest percentage of isolates with 53.4%, followed by wound swab (19.1%), stool (10.1%), High vaginal swab (6.8%), Endocervical swab (3.6%), sputum (3.1%), blood (1.4%), Cerebrospinal fluid (1.0%) and semen (1.0%) and then pleural fluid (0.5%). In conclusion, Enterobacteriaceae clinical isolates were highly prevalent in Federal Teaching Hospital Gombe. Further research to assess the antimicrobial resistance profile of these clinical bacterial organisms in the study area is recommended for effective treatment options for bacterial infections.