Epidemiological and genetic characteristics of clinical carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales isolates from Batna hospitals in Algeria.

Background: Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales isolates are associated with significant mortality and have emerged as a major problem in healthcare settings worldwide.

Objective: Our aim was to investigate the epidemiological and genotypic characteristics of carbapenemase-positive Enterobacterales isolates from patients hospitalised in three hospitals in the city of Batna, Algeria.

Methods: Between 2016 and 2019, a total of 5,316 clinical isolates were obtained. The collected isolates were identified using the VITEK-2 system. Demographic and microbiological data were collected as well as the antimicrobial susceptibility testing, phenotypic and molecular characterisation of carbapenemase and mcr-1 genes were performed.

Results: Out of the 5,316 isolates, 201 were carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales isolates and 179 of them (89.05%) were positive for the production of carbapenemase, of which Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli and Enterobacter cloacae were the most common. The bla gene alone was detected in 147 isolates (82.12%) moreover, the bla gene was detected in ten isolates (5.59%). Dual and triple combinations of carbapenemase genes were also observed here for the first time in Algeria: bla and bla; bla, bla and bla; bla and bla; bla, bla and bla; bla and bla genes. In addition, resistance to both colistin and carbapenem antibiotics was detected in eight isolates, however none of them was positive for the mcr-1 gene.

Conclusion: This is the first study reporting the detection of carbapenemase genes in Klebsiella aerogenes, Enterobacter sakazakii, Raoultella ornithinolytica, Serratia ficaria, and Serratia marcescens and specific carbapenemase gene combinations in Algeria. The present study revealed that bla were found to be the predominant carbapenemase genes in Batna hospitals.