Prevalence of VIM Metallo ß –Lactamase among Clinical Isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae in Hilla Hospitals

Abstract

This study investigated the presence of blaVIM in clinical isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae. During the period from April to August 2011, a total of 801 various clinical samples were collected from different hospitals in Hilla city. Of these,117 isolates were diagnosed as K.pneumoniae . High prevalence of K.pneumoniae isolates were detected in stool samples 38 (27%) followed by sputum 19 (15%). All 117 K.pneumoniae isolates were primarily screened for - lactams resistance, 91 (78%) showed positive results for beta lactams . β- lactam resistance isolates were underwent antimicrobial susceptibility to 26 antibiotics by Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion methods .High resistance rate was recorded for penicillins (carbenicillin and ampicillin) (99%) and (94.5%),respectively .Carbapenem resistance was reported in 17 (18.7%) of K. pneumoniae isolates. Phenotypic detection of metallo β- lactamase by imipenem-EDTA disk identified a proportion of 65% as metallo β-lactamase producers. The presence of blaVIM gene was checked by Polymerase Chain reaction (PCR) and confirmed in 14(82.3%) of isolates.