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Characterisation of colistin resistant Enterobacterales isolated from clinical specimens from public hospitals in Tshwane, Gauteng

Dissertation (MSc (Medical Microbiology))--University of Pretoria, 2024.

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Other Authors: Said, Mohamed
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: University of Pretoria 2025
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author2 Said, Mohamed
author_browse Said, Mohamed
author_facet Said, Mohamed
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv © 2023 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria.
description Dissertation (MSc (Medical Microbiology))--University of Pretoria, 2024.
format Thesis
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institution University of Pretoria (South Africa)
language English
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:36:33.236Z
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provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
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publisher University of Pretoria
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spelling oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/101072 Characterisation of colistin resistant Enterobacterales isolated from clinical specimens from public hospitals in Tshwane, Gauteng Said, Mohamed sidneysimons8@gmail.com Ehlers, M.M. (Marthie Magdaleen) Simons, Sidney UCTD Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Colistin resistance Enterobacterales Mobile colistin resistance Chromosomal mutations Colistin Dissertation (MSc (Medical Microbiology))--University of Pretoria, 2024. The rate of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is constantly increasing due to the exposure to and overuse of antimicrobials, bacterial chromosomal mutations or acquisition of resistance genes. The lack of development of new antimicrobials has led to the recycling of old antimicrobials such as colistin. Colistin belongs to the antimicrobial class of polymyxins and targets the lipid A region of the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in the cell wall of Gram-negative bacteria. However, a rise in colistin resistance in Gram-negative bacteria has been seen over the past few years. Colistin resistance can either be conferred intrinsically or by acquired mechanisms such as chromosomal mutations or mobile colistin resistance (mcr) genes. To date, ten mcr genes have been detected in clinical and environmental Enterobacterales isolates across the globe and have implications in public health due to their transmissibility, infection prevention and control policies and in the search for alternative treatment options. Information on the colistin resistance mechanisms circulating in public hospitals in Tshwane is limited. This study aimed to phenotypically and genotypically characterise colistin resistance in Enterobacterales isolated from clinical specimens from public hospitals in Tshwane, South Africa. This study included 80 colistin resistant Enterobacterales isolates from various invasive and non-invasive clinical specimens from patients in public hospitals. The isolates were identified using the Vitek® MS Prime system (bioMérieux, France). Sensititre (Thermo Fisher Scientific, USA) was used to determine colistin minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) and was compared to the gold standard, colistin broth microdilution (BMD). Conventional polymerase chain reaction assays were used to detect mobile colistin resistance genes: mcr-1 to mcr-10. Enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus polymerase chain reaction (ERIC PCR) was utilised to determine the genetic relatedness between the colistin resistant isolates. Based on patient demographics, colistin susceptibility testing and genetic relatedness of the isolates, ten isolates were selected for whole genome sequencing (WGS). A total of 46 Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae), 13 Escherichia coli (E. coli), 11 Salmonella enterica (S. enterica) and 10 Enterobacter cloacae (E. cloacae) isolates were identified. Patient demographics indicated isolates were obtained from 61.25% (49/80) female and 38.75% (31/80) male patients with a mean age of 42 years. The colistin MICs by Sensititre (Thermo Fisher Scientific, USA) ranged from 0.25 µg/mL to >128 µg/mL and had an essential agreement of 57% with colistin BMD. Of all the mcr genes screened for, none were detected in any of the isolates which suggested alternative resistance mechanisms as confirmed by WGS. The ERIC PCR results indicated high genetic diversity between colistin resistant K. pneumoniae isolates, colistin resistant E. coli isolates and colistin resistant E. cloacae complex isolates while the colistin resistant S. enterica isolates were genetically similar. The WGS results indicated that chromosomal mechanisms and efflux pumps conferred colistin resistance in the selected isolates. The findings from the study provided insight into colistin resistant Enterobacterales isolates obtained from public hospitals in Tshwane, South Africa. A low prevalence of colistin resistance and mcr genes amongst Enterobacterales was detected and colistin resistance was conferred by chromosomal mechanisms and efflux pumps. Continued surveillance is crucial in infection prevention and control. National Health Laboratory Services (NHLS) National Research Foundation (NRF) University of Pretoria Medical Microbiology MSc (Medical Microbiology) Unrestricted Faculty of Health Sciences SDG-03: Good health and well-being 2025-02-20T07:39:46Z 2025-02-20T07:39:46Z 2025-04 2024-12 Dissertation * A2025 http://hdl.handle.net/2263/101072 10.25403/UPresearchdata.28444064 en © 2023 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria
spellingShingle UCTD
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Colistin resistance
Enterobacterales
Mobile colistin resistance
Chromosomal mutations
Colistin
Characterisation of colistin resistant Enterobacterales isolated from clinical specimens from public hospitals in Tshwane, Gauteng
title Characterisation of colistin resistant Enterobacterales isolated from clinical specimens from public hospitals in Tshwane, Gauteng
title_full Characterisation of colistin resistant Enterobacterales isolated from clinical specimens from public hospitals in Tshwane, Gauteng
title_fullStr Characterisation of colistin resistant Enterobacterales isolated from clinical specimens from public hospitals in Tshwane, Gauteng
title_full_unstemmed Characterisation of colistin resistant Enterobacterales isolated from clinical specimens from public hospitals in Tshwane, Gauteng
title_short Characterisation of colistin resistant Enterobacterales isolated from clinical specimens from public hospitals in Tshwane, Gauteng
title_sort characterisation of colistin resistant enterobacterales isolated from clinical specimens from public hospitals in tshwane gauteng
topic UCTD
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Colistin resistance
Enterobacterales
Mobile colistin resistance
Chromosomal mutations
Colistin
url http://hdl.handle.net/2263/101072