Abstract:
Antimicrobial drug resistance is a global issue that affects health, economic, and
social development. This study therefore set out to determine the prevalence of
extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs) in bacteria isolated from
tuberculosis patients in three selected hospitals in Ghana. A total of 53 isolates
consisting of 36 Escherichia coli, 6 Klebsiella pneumoniae, 3
Enterobacter cloacae, 3 Morganella morganii, 1 Citrobacter freundi, 1
Enterobacter asburiae, 1 Klebsiella varicola ,1 Proteus mirabilis and 1
Serraatia marcescens were obtained from rectal samples and tested for their
susceptibility to seventeen (17) commonly (due to easy accessibility and
affordability) used antibiotics at the selected hospitals, ESBL production was
determined by double disc synergy test and the ESBL genotypes were
determined by PCR. A greater proportion 83.4% of isolates were resistant to the
beta lactam antibiotics ranging from 5.6% for meropenem and ertapenem to
83.4% for amoxicillin/clavulanate when tested against E. coli. All the other
isolates showed 100% resistance to amoxicillin/clavulanate. Also, five (5)
isolates showed 100% resistance to trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole. All the
isolates were susceptible to imipenem and dorepenem. All of K. pneumonia, E.
cloacae and M. morganii were resistant to amoxicillin/clavulanate. ESBL
phenotypes were detected in E. coli and E. cloacae. BlaTEM genotype was
present in E. coli and K. pneumoniae. BlaSHV and BlaOXA-1 genotypes were
also detected in K. pneumoniae and E. coli respectively. The overall ESBL
prevalence was 15.1%. From the results, imipenem and doripenem will be the
recommended drugs of choice. However, the use of amoxicillin/clavulanate and
trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole should be regulated.
