Evaluation of Kpn and mrkD Genes among Klebsiella pneumoniae Strains Isolated from Patients Admitted to Different Wards of Rouhani and Shahid Beheshti Hospitals of Babol, Iran

Background and Objective: According to the high incidence of Klebsiella pneumoniae nosocomial infections in different wards of health care units and the emergence of high levels of antibiotic resistance, evaluating the frequency of multi-drug resistant strains and recognizing the virulence factors may help treat the related infections. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, by presenting to the laboratories of Rouhani and Shahid Beheshti hospitals of Babol (Iran) during six months, Klebsiella pneumoniae strains were isolated from clinical specimens and transferred to the microbiology laboratory of Babol University of Medical Sciences for confirmation. Afterwards, the antibiotic resistance pattern was identified by disc diffusion method for the following antibiotics: amoxicillin, erythromycin, cefotaxime, gentamicin, ciprofloxacin, piperacillin, cefixime, amikacin, and imipenem. Finally, after DNA purification by using a commercial kit, mrkD and Kpn genes were evaluated by PCR molecular test. Results: Sixty Klebsiella pneumoniae strains were isolated from different clinical specimens during six months. By using disc diffusion method, the highest (95.4%) and lowest (0%) resistance rates pertained to amoxicillin and imipenem, respectively. The frequencies of mrkD and Kpn genes were 71% and 63%, respectively. Conclusion: Due to the high prevalence of antibiotic resistance among Klebsiella pneumoniae strains and considering that this is the first report of the mentioned genes in Babol, it is necessary to adopt appropriate therapeutic regimens to reduce antibiotic resistance.