Iloduba Nnaemeka Aghanya^1,, Comfort Nne Akujobi¹, Simon Nkpeh Ushie¹, Chika Florence Ubajaka², Ijeoma Maryrose Ajuba³, Chibuike Jesse Ezeama¹, Nkechi Perpetua Maduekwe⁴, Ngozichukwu Gertrude Uzoewulu¹, Chisom Godswill Chigbo⁵

The acquisition of carbapenemase-producing organisms in healthcare settings is a significant threat and has dire implications for public health. Previous reports regarding carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae from fomites are limited. This study aimed to analyse the antimicrobial resistance patterns and prevalence of carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae in the ward environments of a tertiary health institution in Nigeria.One hundred and forty-two bacteria were isolated from 534 fomites in the hospital wards, and out of these, 15(10.6%) were K. pneumoniae. Therefore, the prevalence of K. pneumoniae in all the samples was 15/534(2.8%), while that of carbapenemase-producing K. pneumoniae was 8/534(1.5%). Multi-drug resistance was detected in 15/15(100%) of the K. pneumoniae isolated. All the K. pneumoniae isolates were resistant to ampicillin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, cefuroxime, and tetracycline. Although 8/15(53.3%) of the isolates were confirmed positive for carbapenemase production using the modified Hodge test, no Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase gene (bla_KPC) was detected. The most frequent sites that harboured carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae were the beds 6/15(40%). Hence, the prevalence of carbapenemase-producing K. pneumoniae fomite colonisation in the NAUTH ward environment was low.

multidrug-resistant, Klebsiella pneumoniae, carbapenemase, oxacillinase, fomites