Report: shattering a myth - whooping cough susceptible to antibiotics

Bordetella parapertussis is the causative agent of a milder form of pertussis or whooping cough. Little is reported about the antibiotic resistance patterns and mechanism of drug resistance of Bordetella parapertussis. The objective of this study has been to investigate antimicrobial resistance, distribution of integrons and presence of gene cassettes to quinolones [qnr] and sulfonamides [sul] among B. parapertussis strains' isolated from Pakistan. Thirty-five [35] samples were collected from various hospitals of Pakistan from children [median age 3 years] with pertussis-like symptoms, all were tested and confirmed to be B. Parapertussis. Resistance profile of Ampicillin, Cephalexin, Sulphamethoxazole, Chloramphenicol, Ofloxacin, Nalidixic acid, Gentamycin and Erythromycin were investigated through all samples. Majority of the isolates were found to be resistant to the afore-mentioned antibiotics except erythromycin. All isolates were resistant to quinolones phenotypically, but qnr genes were detected in only 25.7% [9/35] of isolates. On the other hand, 71.4% [25/35] isolates were resistant to sulfonamides phenotypically. From these 71% strains showing phenotypical resistance, 96% [24/25] were found to possess sul genes. Only two isolates were carrying class 1 integrons, which also harbored sul gene and qnr gene cassettes. It can be safely concluded that the phenotypic resistance patterns seemed mostly independent of presence of integrons. However, interestingly both integrons harboring strains were resistant to quinolones and sulfonamides and also possessed qnr and sul genes

Antibiotic susceptibility profiling and virulence potential of Campylobacter jejuni isolates from different sources in Pakistan

OBJECTIVE@#To determine antibiotic resistance patterns and virulence potential of Campylobacter jejuni (C. jejuni) isolates from clinical human diarrheal infections, cattle and healthy broilers.@*METHODS@#Antibiotic sensitivity patterns of C. jejuni isolates were determined by Kirby Bauer Disc Diffusion assay. These isolates were then subjected to virulence profiling for the detection of mapA (membrane-associated protein), cadF (fibronectin binding protein), wlaN (beta-l,3-galactosyltransferase) and neuAB (sialic acid biosynthesis gene). Further C. jejuni isolates were grouped by random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD) profiling.@*RESULTS@#A total of 436 samples from poultry (n=88), cattle (n=216) and humans (n=132) from different locations were collected. Results revealed percentage of C. jejuni isolates were 35.2% (31/88), 25.0% (54/216) and 11.3% (15/132) among poultry, cattle and clinical human samples respectively. Antibiotic susceptibility results showed that similar resistance patterns to cephalothin was ie. 87.0%, 87.1% and 89%among humans, poultry and cattle respectively, followed by sulfamethoxazole+trimethoprim 40.0%, 38.7% and 31.0% in humans, poultry and cattle and Ampicillin 40%, 32% and 20% in humans, poultry and cattle respectively. Beta-lactamase activity was detected in 40.00% humans, 20.37% cattle and 32.25% in poultry C. jejuni isolates. CadF and mapA were present in all poultry, cattle and human C. jejuni isolates, wlaN was not detected in any isolate and neuAB was found in 9/31 (36%) poultry isolates. RAPD profiling results suggested high diversity of C. jejuni isolates.@*CONCLUSIONS@#Detection of multidrug resistant C. jejuni strains from poultry and cattle is alarming as they can be potential hazard to humans. Moreover, predominant association of virulence factors, cadF and mapA (100% each) in C. jejuni isolates from all sources and neuAB (36%) with poultry isolates suggest the potential source of transmission of diverse types of C. jejuni to humans.

Antibiotic susceptibility profiling and virulence potential of Campylobacter jejuni isolates from different sources in Pakistan

Objective: To determine antibiotic resistance patterns and virulence potential of Campylobacter jejuni (. C. jejuni) isolates from clinical human diarrheal infections, cattle and healthy broilers. Methods: Antibiotic sensitivity patterns of C. jejuni isolates were determined by Kirby Bauer Disc Diffusion assay. These isolates were then subjected to virulence profiling for the detection of mapA (membrane-associated protein), cadF (fibronectin binding protein), wlaN (beta-l,3-galactosyltransferase) and neuAB (sialic acid biosynthesis gene). Further C. jejuni isolates were grouped by random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD) profiling. Results: A total of 436 samples from poultry (. n=88), cattle (. n=216) and humans (. n=132) from different locations were collected. Results revealed percentage of C. jejuni isolates were 35.2% (31/88), 25.0% (54/216) and 11.3% (15/132) among poultry, cattle and clinical human samples respectively. Antibiotic susceptibility results showed that similar resistance patterns to cephalothin was ie. 87.0%, 87.1% and 89%among humans, poultry and cattle respectively, followed by sulfamethoxazole+trimethoprim 40.0%, 38.7% and 31.0% in humans, poultry and cattle and Ampicillin 40%, 32% and 20% in humans, poultry and cattle respectively. Beta-lactamase activity was detected in 40.00% humans, 20.37% cattle and 32.25% in poultry C. jejuni isolates. CadF and mapA were present in all poultry, cattle and human C. jejuni isolates, wlaN was not detected in any isolate and neuAB was found in 9/31 (36%) poultry isolates. RAPD profiling results suggested high diversity of C. jejuni isolates. Conclusions: Detection of multidrug resistant C. jejuni strains from poultry and cattle is alarming as they can be potential hazard to humans. Moreover, predominant association of virulence factors, cadF and mapA (100% each) in C. jejuni isolates from all sources and neuAB (36%) with poultry isolates suggest the potential source of transmission of diverse types of C. jejuni to humans.

Seroprevalence of bordetella pertussis antibodies to pertussis toxin among healthy children

Pertussis or whooping cough is a highly communicable, vaccine-preventable acute respiratory tract disease, caused mainly by Bordetella pertussis. In this study, serosurveillance of IgG antibodies against pertussis toxin was carried out in healthy children, aged 3 months to 12 years, from the multiethnic cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Kruskal- Wallis test was applied to determine the difference among groups. The results showed that the average values of pertussis toxin IgG dropped down significantly with age after getting the first dose in first 2 years [p < 0.001]. Therefore, the researchers suggest introduction of booster vaccination with DTaP at second year of life and school going age to reduce the risk of getting B. pertussis infection

Prevalence of antimicrobial resistance and integrons in Escherichia Coli from Punjab, Pakistan

Antimicrobial resistance was studied in Escherichia coli strains isolated from urine samples of 457 patients suffering from urinary tract infection. High prevalence of class 1 integrons (43.56 percent), sulfamethoxazole resistance genes sul1 (45.54 percent) and sul2 (51.48 percent) along with occurrence of quinolone resistance genes was detected in multi drug resistance isolates.