Detection of Virulence Factors and Antibiotic Resistance among Isolates from Iran.

The current study assessed the detection of virulence genes and drug resistance among isolates from Iran. During 2018 to 2020, 52 isolates were obtained from patients at Iran hospitals. By disk diffusion method, the antimicrobial susceptibility of isolates was assessed, and ESBL-producing isolates were detected by CDDT method. PCR analysis was done to detect virulence genes (, , , , , , , , and ); ESBL-encoding genes ( , , , , and ); and class D ( ), class B ( , , and ), and class A ( and ) carbapenemase genes. Among all isolates, 84.6%, 13.5%, and 1.9% isolates were multidrug-resistant (MDR), extensively drug-resistant (XDR), and pandrug-resistant (PDR), respectively. Also, 84.6% were ESBL-producing and 71.2%, 53.8%, 40.4%, and 9.6% of all isolates were carrying , , , and genes, respectively. Six isolates (11.5%) were positive for gene. In contrast, no isolates were positive for the presence of , , and . Virulence factor genes including , , , , , , , , and were carried by 24%, 46.2%, 25%, 11.5%, 17.3%, 86.5%, 75%, 88.5%, and 100% isolates, respectively. This study evaluated the distribution and prevalence of virulence factor genes among isolates. The treatment of these infections is challenging due to the existence of particular virulence factors and the rise of antibiotic resistance. Therefore, the current study accentuates the necessity of finding new and efficient solutions for stopping the increase of antibiotic resistance.