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[Relationship between drug resistance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from burn wounds and its mobile genetic

Xi-Hao Hu1, Xiao-Min Xu, Zu-Huang Mi

  • 1Burn Care Center, Ningbo No. 2 Hospital, Ningbo 315010, China.

Zhonghua Shao Shang Za Zhi = Zhonghua Shaoshang Zazhi = Chinese Journal of Burns
|October 6, 2009
PubMed
Abstract

Insights

Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) from burn wounds shows high drug resistance. This resistance is linked to the presence of mobile genetic elements like transposons and integrons.

Area of Science:

  • Medical Microbiology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Genetics

Background:

  • Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) is a significant opportunistic pathogen.
  • Burn wound infections are susceptible to multidrug-resistant bacterial colonization.
  • Mobile genetic elements (MGEs) play a crucial role in the dissemination of antimicrobial resistance.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between drug resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains isolated from burn wounds and the presence of specific mobile genetic elements.
  • To identify the prevalence of plasmid, transposon, and integron markers in these PA strains.

Main Methods:

  • Isolation and identification of 32 Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains from burn patient wound exudates.
  • Antimicrobial susceptibility testing using standard methods (GNS-448, K-B tests).
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) amplification and gene sequencing to detect genetic markers for plasmids (traA, traF), transposons (tnpA, tnpU, merA), and integrons (int I 1).

Main Results:

  • High rates of drug resistance were observed in PA strains, with resistance to piperacillin, cefotaxime, ceftazidime, cefepime, aztreonam, piperacillin/tazobactam, levofloxacin, imipenem, and meropenem exceeding 56%.
  • Seventeen out of 32 strains (53.1%) carried genetic markers for transposons and/or integrons.
  • Specific findings included co-occurrence of merA and int I 1 in 8 strains, and int I 1 alone in 5 strains.

Conclusions:

  • Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains isolated from burn wounds in this cohort exhibit significant multidrug resistance.
  • The high prevalence of transposon and/or integron markers suggests their involvement in the observed drug resistance patterns.
  • Further research into MGEs in clinical settings is warranted to combat antimicrobial resistance.

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