Full Length Research Paper
Abstract
Antibiotic resistance is a global scourge. Carbapenems are one remedy for treating infections caused by extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBL)-producing enterobacterales. Unfortunately, carbapenemase-producing enterobacterales (EPC) are emerging. In Senegal, the epidemiology of carbapenem resistance genes needs to be updated. From January 2019 to July 2022, 240 enterobacteria were selected from Fann Hospital (Dakar) and Paix Hospital in Ziguinchor (southern Senegal). Identification was performed by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry, and susceptibility testing by agar diffusion. Carbapenem resistance genes were identified by RT-PCR and standard PCR, and sequenced using the Sanger method. The blaOXA-48 and blaNDM genes were found in 25 isolates (13 strains with blaOXA-48 and 14 strains with blaNDM), including two isolates (K. pneumoniae and E. cloacae) in which both genes coexisted. Sequence analysis shows a predominance of blaOXA-181 (36%) and blaNDM-5 (32%) variants. a new epidemiological aspect of resistance in enterobacterial isolates was noted. This involves the "discovery" of NDM-type carbapenemases with the blaNDM-5 variant, and the "persistence" of OXA-48 and its blaOXA-181 variant. A surveillance system is urgently needed to prevent the spread of EPCs.
Key words: Enterobacterales, carbapenemases, variants, blaNDM-5, blaOXA-181, Senegal.
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