Occurrence of Carbapenem Resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae in Clinical Samples from Some Selected Hospitals in Zaria, Kaduna State

Abstract

Aims: The aim of the study was to determine the occurrence of carbapenem resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae in clinical samples from some selected hospitals in Zaria, Kaduna state. Study Design: Hospital based cross sectional study. The study was carried out over a period of 6 months from June to November 2015.  Methodology: A total of 150 clinical samples were collected from which 19 Klebsiella pneumoniae were isolated. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was carried out for all the isolates. The isolate that was resistant to Imipenem was screened for K. pneumoniae carbapenase production using the Modified Hodge Test. Results: Out of the 19 isolates screened, only one was intermediately resistant to Imipenem. This isolate was screened for Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC) production using the Modified Hodge Test (Cloverleaf test). The isolate was a non KPC producer, suggesting the resistance to Imipenem is likely due to other mechanism such as decreased outer membrane permeability, over expression of β-lactamases, production of cephalosporinase and porin loss but not due to carbapenemase production. Carbapenem resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae in Zaria as seen in this study occurs at the rate of 0% and that of KPC producing Klebsiella pneumoniae occurs also at 0%.  Conclusion: Even though the level of carbapenem resistance was low and none of the isolates was a KPC producer, most of the isolates were multidrug resistant isolates and this is alarming.