Title:Frequency of blaIMP and blaSPM Metallo-β-Lactamase Genes among Carbapenem-Resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa Clinical Isolates in Sari, North of Iran
Volume: 16
Issue: 2
Author(s): Zahra Norouzi Bazgir, Mohammad Ahanjan*, Hamid Reza Goli*, Mehrdad Gholami, Roya Ghasemian and Mohammad Bagher Hashemi-Soteh
Affiliation:
- Pediatric Infectious Disease Research Center, Communicable Disease Institute, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari,Iran
- Molecular and Cell Biology Research Centre, Faculty of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari,Iran
Keywords:
Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Carbapenem, Metallo-beta-lactamase, IMP, SPM, blaIMP and
blaSPM.
Abstract: Introduction: Metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs) play a major role in the
resistance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa to carbapenems. We investigated the
antibiotic susceptibility patterns and frequency of MBLs genes (bla and blaSPM) in carbapenem-resistant P. aeruginosa clinical isolates in Sari, Iran.
Materials and Methods: The isolates were identified using standard microbiological
tests, and their antibiotic susceptibility pattern was determined by the disk
agar diffusion method according CLSI criteria. Phenotypic identification of
MBL-producing strains assessed by the combined disk test (CDT). Then, polymerase
chain reaction (PCR) was used to detect the presence of bla and blaSPM
genes.
Results: The highest and lowest levels of antibiotic resistance were observed
against gentamicin (40%) and piperacillin-tazobactam (13%), respectively. Besides,
40 isolates (40%) had the multi-drug resistant (MDR) phenotype, while 5
(12.5%) MDR isolates were resistant to all antibiotics tested. The results of the
CDT showed that among 43 carbapenem non-susceptible clinical isolates of P.
aeruginosa, 33 (76.74%) isolates were MBL-producing strains. Also, the frequency
of the blaIMP gene among 43 carbapenem non susceptible isolates was determined
to be 6.97%, while none of these isolates carried the blaSPM gene.
Conclusion: Due to the high prevalence of carbapenem-resistant and MDR P.
aeruginosa in this study, routine antibiotic susceptibility testing and phenotypic
identification of carbapenemase production by this bacterium are necessary for
the proper selection of antibiotics.