Prevalence and drug resistance in bacteria of the urinary tract infections in Bulawayo province, Zimbabwe

Abstract

Objective: To obtain data on the prevalence of antibiotic resistance in bacteria isolated from patients with suspected urinary tract infection in Bulawayo province, Zimbabwe.

Method: Over a period of one year, 257 urine samples were analyzed for bacteria by standard procedures. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing of isolated bacteria was done using the disk diffusion method.

Results: The isolated bacteria were Escherichia coli (40.3%), coagulase negative Staphylococcus (16.1%), Klebsiella spp (11.2%), Staphylococcus aureus (8%), Group A Streptococcus (8%) and Klebsiella oxytoca (8%). Antibiotic susceptibility testing was done using the disc diffusion method on Mueller-Hinton agar. It revealed a high resistance to ampicillin (84.5%) and cotrimoxazole (68.5%) among the Gram negative bacilli. Gram positive cocci showed resistance to Nalidixic acid (81%) and cotrimoxazole (69%). E. coli was susceptible to most of the drugs but 84% of the strains were resistant to ampicillin, and 68% to cotrimoxazole. All isolates were sensitive to Nicene.

Conclusion: The high levels of ampicillin and cotrimoxazole resistance in E. coli and other enterobactericiae suggest the need to perform urinalysis and antibiotic susceptibility testing in all patients. Nicene should be considered as the first line therapy for all age groups. It is important for physicians to know susceptibility data for UTIs in order to optimize the use of empirical therapy.