Antibiotic Susceptibility Patterns of Bacterial Isolates from Routine Clinical Specimens from Referral Hospitals in Tanzania: A Prospective Hospital-Based Observational Study

• Main Authors: Mnyambwa NP, Mahende C, Wilfred A, Sandi E, Mgina N, Lubinza C, Kahwa A, Petrucka P, Mfinanga S, Ngadaya E, Kimaro G
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dove Medical Press 2021-03-01
• Series: Infection and Drug Resistance
• Subjects: antibiotics; antimicrobial resistance (amr); antibiotic susceptibility testing; methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (mrsa); bacterial isolates
• Online Access: https://www.dovepress.com/antibiotic-susceptibility-patterns-of-bacterial-isolates-from-routine--peer-reviewed-article-IDR

Nicholaus P Mnyambwa,1 Coline Mahende,1 Amani Wilfred,1 Erica Sandi,1 Nicodem Mgina,2 Clara Lubinza,1 Amos Kahwa,1 Pammla Petrucka,3,4 Sayoki Mfinanga,1,3,5 Esther Ngadaya,1 Godfather Kimaro1 1National Institute for Medical Research, Muhimbili Research Centre, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; 2Central Tuberculosis Reference Laboratory (CTRL), Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; 3School of Life Science and Bioengineering, Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology, Arusha, Tanzania; 4University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada; 5Department of Epidemiology and Statistics, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, TanzaniaCorrespondence: Nicholaus P MnyambwaNational Institute for Medical Research Muhimbili Research Centre, P. O. Box 447, Dar es Salaam, TanzaniaEmail [e-mail]: Antimicrobial resistance is one of the biggest threats of modern public health. Although sub-Saharan Africa is highly burdened with infectious diseases, current data on antimicrobial resistance are sparse.Methods: A prospective study was conducted between October 2018 and September 2019 to assess the antibiotic susceptibility patterns of clinical bacterial isolates obtained from four referral hospitals in Tanzania. We used standard media and Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion methods as per Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) standards.Results: We processed a total of 2620 specimens of which 388 (14.8%) were culture-positive from patients with a median (IQR) age of 28 (12– 44) years. Of the positive cultures, 52.3% (203) were from females. Most collected specimens were ear pus 28.6% (111), urine 24.0% (93), wound pus 20.6% (80), stool 14.9% (58), and blood 8.3% (32). Predominant isolates were S. aureus 28.4% (110), E. coli 15.2% (59), P. aeruginosa 10.6% (41), P. mirabilis 7.0% (27), V. cholerae 01 Ogawa 6.2% (24), Klebsiella spp. 5.2% (20) and Streptococcus spp. 4.6% (18). Generally, the isolates exhibited a high level of resistance to commonly used antibiotics such as Ampicillin, Amoxicillin-Clavulanic acid, Erythromycin, Gentamicin, Tetracycline, Trimethoprim, third-generation Cephalosporins (Ceftriaxone and Ceftazidime), and reserved drugs (Clindamycin and Meropenem). S. aureus isolates were resistant to most of the antibiotics tested; 66.7% were classified as MRSA infections.Conclusion: Antibiotic resistance to commonly prescribed antibiotics was alarmingly high. Our findings emphasize the need for comprehensive national control programs to combat antibiotic resistance.Keywords: antibiotics, antimicrobial resistance, AMR, antibiotic susceptibility testing, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, MRSA, bacterial isolates