Surveillance for Antibiogram Pattern of Nosocomial Bacteria from two Selected Hospitals in Kano State, Nigeria

Abstract

In a bid to determine the level of antimicrobial resistance among bacterial pathogens feared to be nosocomially transmitted in some hospitals, firstly, patients of HCAI were identified and followed up accordingly with a standardized questionnaire in the hospitals. Samples were collected for bacteriological assay using culture and biochemical methods for the investigation of bacteria associated with nosocomial infections. Antibiogram patterns were assessed by disk diffusion to mark the resistant ones, and the presence of genes encoding for mecA and blaZ was determined with the aid of PCR. At AKTH, a total of 63% of isolates were Gram-positive, while 37% were Gram-negative bacteria. S. aureus was the most common isolate, with a frequency of 37%. Most Gram-positive isolates were resistant to cefuroxime (30 μg) and amoxicillin (10 μg) while showing high sensitivity to other antibiotics tested against them. Only 18% of S. aureus isolates were suspected to be MRSA. Most Gram-negative isolates were found to be resistant to amoxicillin (10 μg) (100%), gentamicin (10 μg) (71%), and chloramphenicol (30 μg) (57%). At MMSH, 86% of the isolates were Gram-positive, while 14% were Gram-negative bacteria. S. aureus (42%) was the most common isolate. All the isolates were resistant to cefuroxime and amoxicillin (10 μg) while showing sensitivity to other tested antibiotics. Only 24% of S. aureus isolates were MRSA. Among the tested MRSA isolates, 63% were mecA positive, while 100% were blaZ positive. The high rates of resistome among the isolates represent a substantial threat to public health, highlighting the need for a well-structured and continuous surveillance system for antimicrobial resistance to encourage the monitoring of antimicrobial therapy.