Abstract
We investigated the incidence and antibiogram profile of <em>Serratia marcescens</em> among hospitalized individuals, hospital environments and halls of residence of Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile Ife, Osun state. These were with a view to provide key information at molecular level that are of epidemiological and therapeutic importance.
Highlights
The study concluded that occurrence of multidrug resistant S. marcescens pose a public health threat in the study area considering their carbapenemase production and carriage of various resistance genes
The susceptibility profile of the isolates against selected antibiotics were studied by the Kirby-baeur disc-diffusion technique and screened for extended spectrum betalactamase (ESBL) and carbapenemase enzymes using double disc synergy test (DDST) and modified carbapenem inactivation assay respectively
All samples were transferred to the laboratory for immediate cultures on freshly prepared sorbitol MacConkey agar infused with 200 U/ ml of colistin
Summary
The study concluded that occurrence of multidrug resistant S. marcescens pose a public health threat in the study area considering their carbapenemase production and carriage of various resistance genes. Introduction β-lactamases are hydrolytic enzymes that inactivate β-lactam antibiotics in the periplasmic membrane of Gram negative bacterial cell, effectively rendering it harmless to the cell [1]. Beta-lactam antibiotics induces ampC gene expression among Serratia sp. By a complex mechanism that involves cell wall recycling [2]. Strains with induced ampC expression were regarded as depressed mutants [5]. Upregulation and increased expression of ampC β-lactamase among S. marcescens occur due to mutation in processes involved in recycling the bacterial cell wall [6]. Such mutants are termed depressed mutants and are markedly resistant to carbapenems and cefoxitin [5]
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