Study of entB Gene and Some Quinolone Resistance Genes (qnrB and acc(6’)-Ib-cr) of Klebsiella pneumoniae in Community-Acquired Infections in Kirkuk City

Ezzulddin, Bahasht Y.; Nooraldeen, Mohammed Y.

doi:10.21608/ejmm.2025.357953.1463

Study of entB Gene and Some Quinolone Resistance Genes (qnrB and acc(6’)-Ib-cr) of Klebsiella pneumoniae in Community-Acquired Infections in Kirkuk City

Document Type : New and original researches in the field of Microbiology.

Authors

Department of Medical Laboratory Techniques, College of Health and Medical Techniques, Kirkuk, Northern Technical University, Iraq Center of Technical Research, Northern Technical University, Iraq

10.21608/ejmm.2025.357953.1463

Abstract

Background: Community-acquired Klebsiella pneumoniae (CAKP) infections arise in people outside hospital environments and can affect various body parts. There is a growing problem with antibiotic resistance, particularly fluoroquinolone resistance, which limits treatment choices for CAKP infections. Objective: This study aimed to detect the entB gene and some fluoroquinolone resistance genes qnrB and aac(6′)-Ib-cr of K. pneumoniae in Community-acquired infections. Methodology: Two hundred fifty-six different clinical samples were collected from outpatients of both sexes suffering from community-acquired infections aged less than one to eighty years. K. pneumoniae was isolated and identified using traditional microbiological methods, and subsequently confirmed with the VITEK 2 compact system. Antibiotic sensitivity was assessed for Gemifloxacin and Norfloxacin by disc diffusion method, and the minimum inhibitory concentration of Ciprofloxacin was evaluated using VITEK 2 AST-GN-419 cards. EntB, qnrB, and aac(6’)-Ib-cr genes were detected using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results: Only thirty-eight non-duplicate K. pneumoniae isolates were identified. The antibiotic susceptibility test revealed 55.3% resistance of isolates to the ciprofloxacin, 50% to the gemifloxacin, and 42.1% to norfloxacin. PCR analysis showed that of all 38 K. pneumoniae isolates, 100% harbored the entB gene. Among 38 isolates, only 26 isolates were phenotypically resistant to fluoroquinolone and they were involved in the molecular detection of plasmid mediated-quinolone-resistant genes (PMQR), the acc(6')-Ib-cr gene was identified in 13 (50%) isolates. In contrast, qnrB was found in 9 (34.6%). Conclusion: A high prevalence of virulence factors can enhance the pathogenicity of K. pneumoniae in infections acquired in the community. Among the factors determining PMQR, the aac (6')-Ib-cr gene tends to be prevalent, followed by the qnrB gene.

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