characteristics of plasmids in multi-drug-resistant enterobacteriaceae isolated during prospective surveillance of a newly opened hospital in iraq特征多重耐药性质粒的肠杆菌科孤立的前瞻性监测期间在伊拉克新开的一家医院.pdfVIP

Characteristics of Plasmids in Multi-Drug-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae Isolated during Prospective Surveillance of a Newly Opened Hospital in Iraq 1 . 2. 1 2 3 Xiao-Zhe Huang * , Jonathan G. Frye , Mohamad A. Chahine , LaShanda M. Glenn , Julie A. Ake , 1 1 1 Wanwen Su , Mikeljon P. Nikolich , Emil P. Lesho 1 Bacterial Diseases Branch, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States of America, 2 Bacterial Epidemiology and Anti-drug Resistant Unit, Agriculture Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Athens, Georgia, United States of America, 3 Infectious Diseases Service, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D.C., United States of America Abstract Background: Gram-negative multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria are major causes of nosocomial infections, and antibiotic resistance in these organisms is often plasmid mediated. Data are scarce pertaining to molecular mechanisms of antibiotic resistance in resource constrained areas such as Iraq. Methodology/Principal Findings: In this study, all MDR Enterobacteriaceae (n = 38) and randomly selected non-MDR counterparts (n = 41) isolated from patients, healthcare workers and environmental surfaces in a newly opened hospital in Iraq were investigated to characterize plasmids found in these isolates and determine their contribution to antibiotic resistance. Our results demonstrated that MDR E. coli and K. pneumoniae isolates harbored significantly more ($3) plasmids compared to their non-MDR counterparts, which carried #2 plasmids (p,0.01). Various large plasmids (,52 to 100 kb) from representative isolates were conf