Plasmid- Mediated Antibiotic Resistance Associated with Health Care Workers (HCW) at the Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta Clinic Institution-Based Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Plasmid-mediated antibiotic resistance is a significant problem in treating infectious diseases.

Health Care Workers (HCWs) are among the significant professional personnel involved in administering antibiotics. Most studies on antibiotic resistance among HCWs are questionnaire-based compared with in vitro studies with this group of people. This study aimed to characterize the antibiotic resistance pattern among health workers at the University. Clean catch midstream urine specimens were collected in sterile plastic vials from healthcare professionals. Samples were enriched in Selenite F broth and nutrient broth and incubated for 24 hours at 37^oc, an entire loop culture from turbid broths was inoculated onto appropriate agar plate. Isolated bacteria were screened for antimicrobial sensitivity using Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method. Carbapenem[p\[resistant Enterobacteraceae (CRE) producers was detected by the modified hodges l,’’,’;.test (MHT). A plasmid curing (elimination) test was performed to determine the antibiotic resistant marker. Both descriptive methods of analyzing data were used in Statistical Analysis. More samples were recruited from the female gender (39), with the highest frequency in the age group of 21-30 and 41-50 (13 each). K. pneumoniae has the highest occurrence followed by E.coli Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterobacter aerogenes. Eleven isolates were resistant to imipenem but were producers of carbapenemase. Only 5 of the imipenem-resistant isolates showed susceptibility to the previously resisted drugs, while the remaining was plasmidic. Most Multidrug Resistance isolates from healthcare workers were Plasmidic in nature, suggesting that this resistance was horizontally transferred.