Agbagwa OE^1,, Aminofifori J¹

The development of antibiotic resistance in bacteria following the introduction of antimicrobial agents has emerged as an important medical problem worldwide. Antibiotic resistance has made the treatment of infectious diseases a global challenge. The study was carried out to detect Extended Spectrum Beta-Lactamase (ESBL) and Amp C Beta-lactamase mediated resistance of Escherichia coli. Twelve isolates were collected from the University of Port Harcourt, department of Microbiology; nine out of the 12 were identified to be E. coli after series of biochemical test. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was carried out on all the isolates using the disc diffusion method. High level of antimicrobial resistance was observed in the test organism against Augmentin and Ampicillin. ESBL preliminary screening, ESBL phenotypic confirmatory test and double disk synergy test was performed on all the isolates to detect ESBL producers. Results obtained from the study showed that 5(55.5%) out of the nine E. coli isolates were confirmed to be ESBL producers. AmpC production was detected in only one of the E. coli isolate which was from wound swab. The study revealed a high rate of ESBL- producing E. coli from clinical specimen. Further studies should be carried out using molecular method to detect ESBL genes and a wider range of E. coli from different sources should be used.

Amp C, Antibiotic resistance, E. coli, Extended Spectrum Beta-Lactamase