Bacterial drug-resistance patterns and genetic diversity of bacteria-associated bacteriuria in diabetic patients in Ghana

Akua Obeng Forson; Dickson Agyei Menkah; Marjorie Ntiwaa Quarchie; Shittu Bunkunmi Dhikrullahi; Michael Olu-Taiwo; Francis Samuel Codjoe

doi:10.1016/j.ijregi.2021.10.007

Bacterial drug-resistance patterns and genetic diversity of bacteria-associated bacteriuria in diabetic patients in Ghana

IJID Reg. 2021 Oct 28:1:142-149. doi: 10.1016/j.ijregi.2021.10.007. eCollection 2021 Dec.

Authors

Akua Obeng Forson¹, Dickson Agyei Menkah¹, Marjorie Ntiwaa Quarchie¹, Shittu Bunkunmi Dhikrullahi², Michael Olu-Taiwo¹, Francis Samuel Codjoe¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medical Laboratory Science, School of Biomedical and Allied Health Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana.
² Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Ghana Medical School, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana.

Abstract

Objectives: Our study aimed to determine the etiology of urinary tract infections (UTIs), resistance profiles of isolated bacteria, and virulence factors of Escherichia coli associated with bacteriuria in diabetic patients in Ghana.

Methods: Midstream urine samples from 982 diabetic patients were tested for uropathogens at the National Diabetes Management and Research Centre in Ghana, using standard bacteriological methods, with antibiogram testing of the isolates using the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion, as per CLSI guidelines. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to investigate the phylogenetic groupings and virulence factor (VF) genes of isolated E. coli.

Results: The overall prevalence of UTIs was 9.2%, and the main uropathogens were Klebsiella spp. (55.6%) and Escherichia coli (31.3%). Age, duration of diabetes, and a previous history of UTIs were risk factors associated with UTI (p-value < 0.05). High levels of antibacterial resistance to cefuroxime (84%), ampicillin (80%), and gentamicin (70.7%) were observed. The distribution of VFs in each phylogenetic group revealed that sfa-iutA-KpsTMII-KpsTMIII genes were associated with group B2, and iutA-ibe were associated with group D.

Conclusions: The isolated uropathogens were highly resistant, and the E. coli isolates possessed varying VFs. Continuous monitoring of bacteria associated with UTI in diabetics is highly recommended.

Keywords: Escherichia coli; Ghana; phylogenetic group; urinary tract infections (UTI); virulence factor.