Skip Navigation


JAC Advance Access originally published online on September 29, 2007
Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy 2007 60(5):1010-1017; doi:10.1093/jac/dkm348
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
60/5/1010    most recent
dkm348v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Gad, G. F.
Right arrow Articles by Ashour, H. M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Gad, G. F.
Right arrow Articles by Ashour, H. M.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Characterization of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from clinical and environmental samples in Minia, Egypt: prevalence, antibiogram and resistance mechanisms

Gamal F. Gad1, Ramadan A. El-Domany2, Sahar Zaki3 and Hossam M. Ashour4,*

1 Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Minia University, Egypt; 2 Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Helwan University, Egypt; 3 Department of Environmental Biotechnology, Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Research Institute, Mubarak City for Scientific Research and Technology Applications, Alexandria, Egypt; 4 Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Egypt

Received 4 July 2007; returned 2 August 2007; revised 11 August 2007; accepted 13 August 2007

* Corresponding author. Tel: +20-106522867; Fax: +20-238371549; E-mail: hossamking{at}mailcity.com

Objectives: To assess the prevalence, levels of antimicrobial susceptibility and resistance mechanisms of Pseudomonas.

Methods: A total of 445 clinical isolates and 200 environmental isolates were collected from three hospitals in Minia, Egypt. The MICs of different antibiotics were determined using the agar dilution method. The isolates were tested for ß-lactamase production and for the presence of efflux pumps.

Results: Out of the 445 clinical specimens, 107 Pseudomonas strains (24%) and 81 Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains were isolated (18.2%). Out of the 200 environmental specimens, 57 Pseudomonas strains (28.5%) and 39 P. aeruginosa strains were isolated (19.5%). Amikacin was the most active drug against P. aeruginosa followed by meropenem, cefepime and fluoroquinolones. P. aeruginosa was highly resistant to all other antibiotics tested. The environmental isolates of P. aeruginosa exhibited higher antibiotic resistance than clinical isolates. Mechanisms of resistance used by P. aeruginosa included ß-lactamase production and multiple drug resistance efflux pumps. Our results showed that 29 (36%) of the clinical P. aeruginosa isolates and 37 (95%) of the environmental P. aeruginosa isolates were ß-lactamase producers. In addition, P. aeruginosa isolates effectively used an efflux-mediated mechanism of resistance against ciprofloxacin and meropenem, but not gentamicin or cefotaxime.

Conclusions: This study examined the prevalence of P. aeruginosa, and its susceptibility patterns to different antibiotics. The presence of antibiotic-resistant P. aeruginosa isolates could be attributed to ß-lactamase production and the use of multiple drug resistance efflux pumps.

Keywords: nosocomial infections , antibiotics , ß-lactamases , efflux pumps


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.