c2aba307-f605-4f20-9e85-05624a654b59
Environmental Surveillance of ESBL and Carbapenemase-Producing Gram-Negative Bacteria in a hospital in Ghana
We investigated the presence and prevalence of ESBL- and Carbapenemase-carrying bacterial species by swabbing "high touch" areas as deduced from literature (taps, door handles, switches, etc.)  in four wards in the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital.  We recovered bacterial growth from all swabs plated on agar in the absence of antimicrobial selection.  We compared this bacterial growth on plates containing vancomycin + either ertapenem or cefotaxime inoculated in parallel: identifying species by MALDI-ToF spectra and ESBL and carbapenemase presence through PCR.  The high prevalence of A. baumannii carrying blaNDM-1 we observed was further characterised by whole genome sequencing and phylogenetic analysis to determine the relationship between resistant strains found in different wards. Our study, therefore, sought to address this concern and bridge the gap in research literature relating to surveillance of ESBL and carbapenemase-producing gram-negative AMR pathogens in hospital environments to advise IPC practices and aid in setting research priority agenda in Ghana.
We investigated the presence and prevalence of ESBL- and Carbapenemase-carrying bacterial species by swabbing "high touch" areas as deduced from literature (taps, door handles, switches, etc.)  in four wards in the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital.  We recovered bacterial growth from all swabs plated on agar in the absence of antimicrobial selection.  We compared this bacterial growth on plates containing vancomycin + either ertapenem or cefotaxime inoculated in parallel: identifying species by MALDI-ToF spectra and ESBL and carbapenemase presence through PCR.  The high prevalence of A. baumannii carrying blaNDM-1 we observed was further characterised by whole genome sequencing and phylogenetic analysis to determine the relationship between resistant strains found in different wards. Our study, therefore, sought to address this concern and bridge the gap in research literature relating to surveillance of ESBL and carbapenemase-producing gram-negative AMR pathogens in hospital environments to advise IPC practices and aid in setting research priority agenda in Ghana.