Lara Mahmoud AL-Suramerry
Department of Biology - College of Education for Pure Sciences- University of Diyala, Iraq
Saba Jasim Jawad Al-Zubaidi
Department of Biology - College of Education for Pure Sciences- University of Diyala, Iraq
ABSTRACT
Background: Klebsiella pneumoniae is an opportunistic pathogen responsible for a wide range of clinical infections, with increasing multidrug resistance (MDR) posing a significant challenge in healthcare settings. Virulence genes play a crucial role in antibiotic resistance and pathogenicity, necessitating molecular surveillance for effective infection control and treatment strategies. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the antibiotic resistance patterns and the prevalence of selected virulence and resistance genes in K. pneumoniae isolates from various clinical specimens. Methods: A total of 22 K. pneumoniae isolates were collected from patients with urinary tract infections, respiratory infections (sputum), burn infections, and wound infections at Baquba Teaching Hospital and Al-Batool Maternity Hospital in Diyala Governorate, Iraq, between December 2022 and June 2023. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was performed against 12 antibiotics using standard disk diffusion and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) methods. The MIC values for ciprofloxacin ranged from 8 to 1024 µg/mL. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis was conducted to detect resistance-associated genes (gyrA, qnrB) and virulence-associated capsular genes (K1, rmpA). Results: All K. pneumoniae isolates exhibited multidrug resistance. PCR analysis revealed that the gyrA gene, associated with fluoroquinolone resistance, was present in 100% of the isolates, while qnrB was detected in 22.72% of the isolates. Notably, none of the isolates harbored the K1 or rmpA genes, indicating the absence of hypervirulent K. pneumoniae (hvKP) strains in the studied samples. Conclusion: The findings highlight the high prevalence of multidrug-resistant K. pneumoniae and the significant presence of gyrA-mediated fluoroquinolone resistance. The absence of K1 and rmpA genes suggests that these isolates may not belong to the hypervirulent K. pneumoniae lineage. Continuous molecular surveillance of virulence and resistance genes is essential for guiding antimicrobial stewardship and infection control measures in clinical settings.
Keywords: Antibiotics, gyrA, Gene, MIC.
