Prevalence and Occurrence of Type 1 Fimbriae in Klebsiella pneumoniae

Background: Klebsiella pneumoniae causes both community acquired and nosocomial infections. The various virulence factors have been well characterised in K. pneumoniae includes: capsule, lipopolysaccharides, siderophores and fimbriae. FimH 1, encoding for fimbriae and mediate adhesion. Aim and objective: The aim of the study was to determine drug susceptibility and the prevalence of FimH 1 genes among clinical isolates of K. pneumoniae. Materials and methods: A total of 200 isolates collected over a period of one year, were included in this study. The source of the isolates were urine (n=74), respiratory (n=73), exudates (n=50) and blood (n=3). For all the isolates antimicrobial susceptibility testing by disc diffusion was done. Polymerase chain reaction was performed for the detection of FimH 1 gene. Results: The susceptibility of the study isolates to different classes of antimicrobial agent was: meropenem (75%), amikacin (69%), piperacillin/tazobactam (67.5%), ciprofloxacin (59%), and cefotaxime (53.5%). FimH-1 gene was detected in 55% of the total isolates. Conclusion: FimH 1 was not a major mediator associated with adherence in this study. Detection of virulence gene such as type 1 fimbriae will help to understand their occurrence in different strains of K. pneumoniae and how they function in different host environments. Most of the isolates were resistant to third generation of cephalosporins. Knowing the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance helps to formulate infection control practices and formulating antimicrobial therapy. Keywords: Klebsiella pneumoniae, virulence gene, fimbrial adhesin, type 1 fimbriae, antimicrobial susceptibility, disc diffusion.