Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Dec 31;19(1):2344320.
doi: 10.1080/19932820.2024.2344320. Epub 2024 Apr 21.

Antimicrobial resistance and carbapenemase dissemination in Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates from Libyan hospitals: a call for surveillance and intervention

Nasrin K Gadaime  1   2 , Randa N Haddadin  3 , Asem A Shehabi  1 , Intisar N Omran  4
Affiliations

Antimicrobial resistance and carbapenemase dissemination in Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates from Libyan hospitals: a call for surveillance and intervention

Nasrin K Gadaime et al. Libyan J Med. .

Abstract

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a multidrug-resistant bacterium capable of forming biofilms. This study aimed to assess resistance of clinical isolates from Libyan hospitals to antipseudomonal antibiotics, the prevalence of selected extended-spectrum β-lactamases and carbapenemase genes among these isolates, and the microorganisms' capacity for alginate and biofilm production. Forty-five isolates were collected from four hospitals in Benghazi and Derna, Libya. Antimicrobial susceptibility was determined using agar disc diffusion. The presence of resistance genes (blaCTXM, blaTEM, blaSHV-1, blaGES-1, blaKPC, and blaNDM) was screened using PCR. Biofilm formation was quantified via the crystal violet assay, while alginate production was measured spectrophotometrically. Resistance to antipseudomonal antibiotics ranged from 48.9% to 75.6%. The most prevalent resistance gene was blaNDM (26.7%), followed by blaGES-1 (17.8%). Moreover, all isolates demonstrated varying degrees of biofilm-forming ability and alginate production. No statistically significant correlation was found between biofilm formation and alginate production. The dissemination of resistant genes in P. aeruginosa, particularly carbapenemases, is of great concern. This issue is compounded by the bacteria's biofilm-forming capability. Urgent intervention and continuous surveillance are imperative to prevent further deterioration and the catastrophic spread of resistance among these formidable bacteria.

Keywords: ESBL; Libya; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; antimicrobial resistance; biofilm; carbapenemase.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Prevalence of antibiotic resistance among P. aeruginosa isolates.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
The distribution of selected resistance genes among the isolates.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
The ability to form biofilms by P. aeruginosa isolates.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Balasubramanian D, Schneper L, Kumari H, et al. A dynamic and intricate regulatory network determines pseudomonas aeruginosa virulence. Nucleic Acids Res. 2013;41(1):1. doi: 10.1093/NAR/GKS1039 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bokaeian M, Shahraki Zahedani, Shahram M, et al. Frequency of PER, VEB, SHV, TEM and CTX-M Genes in resistant strains of pseudomonas aeruginosa producing extended spectrum β-lactamases. Jundishapur J Microbiol. 2015;8(1):13783. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Colodner R. Extended-spectrum β-lactamases: a challenge for clinical microbiologists and infection control specialists. Am J Infect Control. 2005;33(2):104–8. doi: 10.1016/j.ajic.2004.07.010 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bradford PA. Extended-spectrum β-lactamases in the 21st century: characterization, epidemiology, and detection of this important resistance threat. Clin Microbiol Rev. 2001;14(4):933. doi: 10.1128/CMR.14.4.933-951.2001 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Meletis G. Carbapenem resistance: overview of the problem and future perspectives. Ther Adv Infect Dis. 2016;3(1):15–21. doi: 10.1177/2049936115621709 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources