Identification and Antimicrobial Susceptibility Test of Bacterial Pathogens Using Microscan Panel Method, Bethzatha Hospital, Ethiopia - Abstract
Introduction: Bacterial isolates from clinical sources have increased resistance to antimicrobial agents available and routinely used in developing countries like Ethiopia. One of the control measures of antimicrobial resistance is to know the susceptibility of pathogenic bacteria from clinical specimens and treat patients accordingly.
Materials and methods: [Different clinical specimens (urine, blood, pus and discharges from different sites) from various wards of Bethezatha Hospital and other Health Institutions were cultured for isolation and identification of bacterial pathogens and antimicrobial susceptibility test. Identification and antimicrobial susceptibility tests were done using Micro Scan identification Panel methods. The panels were read by Micro Scan Auto Scan 4 reader after incubating for 14 to 18 hours at 35oc.
Results and discussion: A total of 995 clinical specimens were cultured in Microbiology Laboratory from May 2021 to February 2022. The most frequent specimens were, urine 89 (32%), blood 77(28%), pus and discharges from different body sites 65(23%). Out of these, 275(27%) yielded different bacterial pathogens. The most dominant bacterial isolates from among gram negatives bacteria included, E. coli, Acinetobacter, and Klebsiella spp., 52(19%) , 32(12%) , 26 (10%) respectively; and from the gram positive bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus 41(15%) ,coagulase negative staphylococcus species and other gram positive cocci were isolated from 79(29%). The bacterial isolates in the present study were among the leading pathogens that are associated with antimicrobial resistance. Multidrug resistance were most frequent among the isolates. Out of the 275 isolates, 222 (80.7%) were resistant to two or more antimicrobial agents tested; and of these 161(59%) were resistant to five or more antimicrobials.
Conclusion: Although the sample size in the present study was relatively small, the results indicated that there is a wide spread of antimicrobial resistant bacterial strains in the studied hospitals and other health institutions. Therefore, critical measures need to be taken to curb the increasing spread of AMR strains in the studied areas if we are to control infections caused by AMR bacteria.