ABSTRACT
Klebsiella pneumoniae is an opportunistic pathogen with various virulence factors that give it the capability to invade a host. Nevertheless, the treatment of bacterial infection is gradually complicated as the bacteria can develop resistance to antimicrobial agents. As nanotechnology is a prosperous field for researchers, we employed zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles (NPs) on isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae. Here, we studied the effect of three NP concentrations-0.25, 0.50, and 0.75 mM-on the gene expression of Klebsiella pneumoniae capsules in isolates collected from different samples. After conducting an anti-bacterial test, the highest nine types of bacteria that resisted the antibacterial agent were chosen for further examination. The gene expression of four genes responsible for capsule manufacturing, namely magA, k2A, rmpA, and kfu, were investigated. When the NP concentration was 0.25 mM, the lowest efficiency was obtained. However, when the concentration increased to 0.50 mM, a noticeable effect on gene expression was detected; consequently, at a concentration of 0.75 Mm, the highest impact was achieved and the gene expression was stopped.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To identify antibiotic susceptibility and resistance of bacterial strains responsible for urinary tract infections in children. METHODS: The cross-sectional study was conducted from June to December 2017 at the Central Teaching Hospital, Baghdad, Iraq, and comprised patients aged between one day and 15 years who were brought to the emergency department and were diagnosed as having urinary tract infections. Urine samples were cultured on appropriate media and the isolated organisms were identified. The susceptibility of bacteria-causing urinary tract infection to different antimicrobial agents was investigated using antibiotic discs. Data was analysed using SPSS 24. RESULTS: Of the 155 patients, 78(50.3%) were girls and 77(49.7%) were boys. The highest number of patients 55(35.5%) were aged <1 year. The most common organism encountered in the study were Escherichia coli 78(50.followed by Klebsiella pneumonia 21(13.5%). Among the Escherichia coli isolates,54(69.2%) were resistant to ceftriaxone, 50(64.1%)to ampicillin and 38(48.7%) to ciprofloxacin. CONCLUSIONS: Escherichia coli was found to be most predominant organism causing urinary tract infection, and it was resistant, among others, to ceftriaxone, ampicillin and ciprofloxacin.
