Abstract:
The menace of antimicrobial resistance affecting public health is rising globally. Many pathogenic bacteria use mechanisms
such as mutations and biofilm formation, significantly reducing the efficacy of antimicrobial agents. In this cross- sectional
study, we aimed to determine the prevalence of selected extended- spectrum β-lactamase (ESβL) genes and analyse the biofilm
formation abilities of the isolated bacteria causing urinary tract infection among adult patients seeking Medicare at Kiambu
Level 5 Hospital, Kenya. The double- disc synergy test was used for phenotypic identification of ESβL- producing isolates, while
microtitre plate assays with some modifications were used for the biofilm formation test. Ten isolates were bioassayed for
ESβL genes out of 57 bacterial isolates obtained from urine samples. This study found the blaTEM
genes to be the most prevalent
ESβL type [10/10 (100 %)], followed by blaOXA
and blaSHV
genes at 4/10 (40 %) and 3/10 (30 %), respectively. In addition, co- carriage
of blaTEM
and blaSHV
was 50 % lower than that of blaTEM
+blaOXA
genes at 66.7 % among Escherichia coli isolates studied. Biofilm
formation was positive in 36/57 (63.2 %) of the isolates tested, with most being Gram- negative [25/36 (69.4 %)]. Escherichia coli
[15/36 (41.7 %)], Klebsiella species [7/36 (19.4 %)] and Staphylococcus aureus [7/36 (19.4 %)] were the dominant biofilm formers.
However, there was no significant difference in biofilm formation among all tested isolates, with all isolates recording P- values
>0.05. In light of these findings, biofilm formation potential coupled with antimicrobial resistance genes in urinary tract infec
tion isolates may lead to difficult- to- treat infections
