Prevalence of Carbapenemase-Producing Organisms at the Kidney Center of Rawalpindi (Pakistan) and Evaluation of an Advanced Molecular Microarray-Based Carbapenemase Assay

Abstract

AIM: A DNA microarray-based assay for the detection of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes was used to study carbapenemase-producing organisms at the Kidney Center of Rawalpindi, Pakistan. METHODS: The evaluation of this assay was performed using 97 reference strains with confirmed AMR genes. Testing of 7857 clinical samples identified 425 Gram-negative bacteria out of which 82 appeared carbapenem resistant. These isolates were analyzed using VITEK-2 for phenotyping and the described AMR assay for genotyping. RESULTS: The most prevalent carbapenemase gene was blaNDM and in 12 isolates we detected two carbapenemase genes (e.g., blaNDM/blaOXA-48). CONCLUSION: Our prevalence data from Pakistan show that - as in other parts of the world - carbapenemase-producing organisms with different underlying resistance mechanisms are emerging, and this warrants intensified and constant surveillance.