ABSTRACT
The tribe Proteeae is a group of bacteria within the family Enterobacteriaceae and is responsible for most cases of nosocomial infections in hospital settings. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of members of Proteeae from clinical specimens in Laquintinie hospital in Douala. Specimens were collected from patients and screened for Proteeae using standard microbiological and biochemical methods (API 20 Enterobacteriaceae gallery). Of the 3414 clinical specimens made of 2712 urine; 264 blood; 243 CSF and 195 wounds and burns; 1136 (33.3) yielded a positive bacterial growth; of which 230 (20.2) were Gram positive and 906 (79.7) were Gram negative. 164 (14.4) isolates were identified as members of Proteeae of which 110 (67.1) were from urine; 37( 22.6) from wounds and burns; 10(6.1) from blood and 7( 4.3) from CSF. Speciation of the Proteeae isolates showed that 111 (67.7) were Proteus mirabilis; 21(12.8) Proteus vulgaris; 11 (6.7) Providencia alcalifaciens; 6 (3.6) Providencia stuartii; 4 (2.4) Morganella morganii and 5 (3.0) Proteus penneri and Providencia rettgeri. There was a significant difference between the type of clinical specimens and the age of patients (X2 = 52.623 p0.05). Most Proteeae isolates where susceptible to imipemen; ceftazidine; chloramphenicol; gentamicin; nalidixic acid; ofloxacin and amikacin. These findings have significant clinical and epidemiological implications