Multicenter Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance among Gram-Negative Bacteria Isolated from Bloodstream Infections in Ghana
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Background: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Gram-negative bacteria-causing bloodstream infections (BSIs), such as Klebsiella pneumoniae and non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS), is a major public health concern. Nonetheless, AMR surveillance remains scarce in sub-Saharan Africa, where BSI treatment is largely empirical. The aim of the study was to determine the distribution and AMR patterns of BSI-causing NTS, K. pneumoniae, and other Gram-negative bacteria in Ghana. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between April and December 2021 at eleven sentinel health facilities across Ghana as part of a pilot study on the feasibility and implementation of the human sector AMR surveillance harmonized protocol in sub-Saharan Africa. Gram-negative bacteria recovered from blood specimens of febrile patients were identified using MALDI-TOF and evaluated for antimicrobial resistance using the BD Phoenix M50 analyzer and Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion. The Department of Medical Microbiology at the University of Ghana served as the reference laboratory. Results: Out of 334 Gram-negative blood isolates, there were 18 (5.4%) NTS, 85 (25.5%) K. pneumoniae, 88 (26.4%) Escherichia coli, 40 (12.0%) Acinetobacter baumannii, 25 (7.5%) Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and 77 (23.1%) other Gram-negative bacteria. As a composite, the isolates displayed high resistance to the antibiotics tested—amoxicillin (89.3%), tetracycline (76.1%), trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (71.5%), and chloramphenicol (59.7%). Resistance to third-generation cephalosporins [ceftriaxone (73.7%), cefotaxime (77.8%), and ceftazidime (56.3%)] and fluoroquinolones [ciprofloxacin (55.3%)] was also high; 88% of the isolates were multidrug resistant, and the rate of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) production was 44.6%. Antibiotic resistance in K. pneumoniae followed the pattern of all Gram-negative isolates. Antibiotic resistance was lower in NTS blood isolates, ranging between 16.7–38.9% resistance to the tested antibiotics. Resistance rates of 38.9%, 22.2%, and 27.8% were found for cefotaxime, ceftriaxone, and ceftazidime, respectively, and 27.8% and 23.8% for ciprofloxacin and azithromycin, respectively, which are used in the treatment of invasive NTS. The prevalence of multidrug resistance in NTS isolates was 38.9%. Conclusions: Multicenter AMR surveillance of Gram-negative blood isolates from febrile patients was well-received in Ghana, and the implementation of a harmonized protocol was feasible. High resistance and multidrug resistance to first- or second-choice antibiotics, including penicillins, third-generation cephalosporins, and fluoroquinolones, were found, implying that these antibiotics might have limited effectiveness in BSI treatment in the country. Continuation of AMR surveillance in Gram-negative blood isolates is essential for a better understanding of the extent of AMR in these pathogens and to guide clinical practice and policymaking.
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MDR prevalence was 17.6% for Shigella spp., 78.4% for Vibrio cholerae, 88% for K. pneumoniae, 89.5% for P. aeruginosa, and 100% for A. baumannii.
“MDR prevalence of 17.6%, 78.4%, 88%, 89.5% and 100% were reported for Shigella spp. [17], Vibrio cholerae [26], K. pneumoniae [35], P. aeruginosa [28], and A. baumannii [30], respectively.”
From A Systematic Review on Antimicrobial Resistance in Ghana from a One Health Perspective (2024) · cites this paper as [35]
The Results (§2.3) report 88.0% multidrug resistance among all Gram-negative blood isolates and say that K. pneumoniae had a similar resistance pattern. They do not report 88% MDR prevalence specifically for K. pneumoniae, the only figure attributed to this source in the citing sentence. (LLM, conf=0.87)
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A Systematic Review on Antimicrobial Resistance in Ghana from a One Health Perspective
Donkor, E. S., Odoom, A., Osman, A.-H., Darkwah, S., & Kotey, F. C. N. (2024) · Antibiotics · doi:10.3390/antibiotics13070662 · Cited by 52 · see citing works
“MDR prevalence of 17.6%, 78.4%, 88%, 89.5% and 100% were reported for Shigella spp. [ 17], Vibrio cholerae [26], K. pneumoniae [35], P. aeruginosa [28], and A. baumannii [30], respectively.”
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- Authors
- Donkor, E. S., Muhsen, K., Johnson, S. A. M., Kotey, F. C. N., Dayie, N. T. K. D., Tetteh-Quarcoo, P. B., Tette, E. M. A., Osei, M.-M., Egyir, B., Nii-Trebi, N. I., Owusu-Okyere, G., Owusu-Ofori, A., Amir, Y., Perlman, S., Lopes, P. H., Mfodwo, A., Gordon, N. C., Gresham, L., Smolinski, M., & Cohen, D.
- Affiliations
- University of Ghana (GH)
- Tel Aviv University (IL)
- Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Ghana Medical School, Accra 00233, Ghana
- Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (GH)
- Mott MacDonald (United Kingdom) (GB)
- Ending Pandemics, San Francisco, CA 94102, USA
- Corresponding author
- Cohen, Dani
- ORCID
- Venue
- Antibiotics
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Published
- 2023-01-27
- Volume
- 12
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 255
- ISSN
- 2079-6382 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC9951917
- OpenAlex
- W4318479227
- Cited by
- 46
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 10 · 2025: 16 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 7
- FWCI
- 3.93
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- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
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- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- The Fleming Fund (FF49/440)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Medicine › Antibiotic Resistance in Bacteria
- Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology › Antibiotic Use and Resistance
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Clinical Biochemistry › Bacterial Identification and Susceptibility Testing
- Keywords
- antimicrobial resistance, Gram-negative bacteria, bloodstream infection, Klebsiella pneumoniae, non-typhoidal Salmonella, Escherichia coli, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, multidrug resistance, extended-spectrum beta-lactamase, third-generation cephalosporin resistance, fluoroquinolone resistance, amoxicillin resistance, tetracycline resistance, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole resistance
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