Abstract

Antibiotic resistance is a major public health problem worldwide. Escherichia coli is one of the bacteria most frequently isolated in hospital infections and became more resistance to common antibiotics used. This resistance to antibiotics could be attributed to a modification of the genetic supports or the acquisition of mobile genetic elements. A total of 195 multi-drug resistant E. coli isolated from clinical samples, were analyzed. Of these multi-drug resistant E. coli, 54 isolates were producing extended-spectrum beta-lactamase. The presence of class 1, 2, and 3 integrons was performed using simple PCR. To highlight the different classes of integrons, genomic DNA was extracted with the QIAmp, DNA mini, and Qiagen kit. The result of the 195 isolates DNA amplification showed that 60.5% isolates were positive for the class 1 integron, while class 2 integron was found in 6 isolates (3.1%) and class 3 integron was found in 24 isolates (12.3%). Among multi-drug resistant E. coli producing extended spectrum beta-lactamase, 68.5% carried the class 1 integron, 3.7% for the class 2 integron, and 13% for the class 3 integron. The results of this study showed the presence of three classes of integrons in several clinical isolates of multi-drug resistant E. coli. The simultaneous presence of resistance genes and integron classes in several extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing isolates demonstrates the need for increased monitoring of antibiotic use.

Key words: Integron, multi-drug resistant, Escherichia coli, extended-spectrum beta-lactamase.