Laboratory Evaluation of Clinical Bacterial Isolates for Detection of Carbapenemases-Producing Enterobacteriaceae in Kano, North West, Nigeria

The spread of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae is a global problem; however, no exact data on the epidemiology of carbapenemase in Kano, Northern Nigeria is available. The study was aimed to detect the occurrence and prevalence of carbapenemase production among clinical bacterial isolates in Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano, Nigeria. From March to August 2014, a total of 94 clinical bacterial isolates comprising of E. coli (44), Klebsiella pneumoniae (27), Proteus mirabilis (19) and Proteus vulgaris (4) were screened for susceptibility to 3rd generation Cephalosporins using Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method and for carbapenemase production using Modified Hodges Test. Result obtained showed that 7(7.4%) of the isolates were found to produce carbapenemase. Highest prevalence of carbapenemase production was found in E. coli (9.09%) followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae (7.40%) Proteus mirabilis (5.26%) and none were found in Proteus vulgaris (0%). Urine samples were found to be with the highest prevalence of 57.1% when compared with sputum (42.9%). This showed that carbapenemase-mediated resistance occurred in Kano state and uncontrolled spread may lead to treatment failure.