Abstract
Multidrug resistance of urinary tract pathogens constitutes an important public health problem, especially for pregnant women, who, due to their particular physiologic state, are more prone to developing urinary tract infections. The aim of the research was to investigate antibiotics and plasmid profile in multi-drug-resistant bacteria from urine sample of pregnant women (10-40 years) in Auchi, South-southern Nigeria. A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 29 pregnant women attending antenatal clinic at Hope Hospital in Auchi, South-Southern Nigeria. Urine samples were collected and cultured using standard microbiological techniques. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was performed using the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method. For different age group, bacteria counts were 31.57103cfu/mL in participants whose ages were from 21 to 30 years and 8.00103 cfu/mL for those between 10 and 20 years. Bacterial isolates discovered included Escherichia coli, Klebsiella spp., Enterococcus spp., Bacillus spp. and Staphylococcus aureus. In all samples, significant amount of bacterial growth was observed. The most frequent isolate was Escherichia coli (55%) while the least frequent was Klebsiella spp. (2%). Bacteria were found to exhibit varying degrees of resistance to commonly used antibiotics with the most resistant bacteria being E. coli (1.0 MRI) while the least resistance was Bacillus spp. (0.8 MRI). Plasmid profile revealed the presence of plasmid in Escherichia coli, Klebsiella spp., Bacillus spp. and Staphylococcus aureus. Antimicrobial sensitivity after plasmid curing revealed increased sensitivity to antibiotics as a result of antibiotics removal. Resistant gene aph(2")-If gene was detected in Escherichia coli, Enterococcus spp., Bacillus spp. and Staphylococcus aureus. Hemolysin gene was detected in Escherichia coli, Enterococcus spp. and Staphylococcus aureus. This study reveals a high prevalence of multidrug-resistant bacteria in the urine of pregnant women during the second and third trimesters. There is urgent need for mandatory routine microbial screenings during antenatal care.