PREVALENCE AND ANTIMICROBIAL SUSCEPTIBILITY OF GRAM NEGATIVE BACTERIA IN THE URINE OF CARITAS UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of Study
Urinary tract infections (UTI) are among the most common conditions encountered in office practices. This is also leading cause of Gram negative sepsis in hospitalized patients [1]. UTI is the most common reason for patients to seek health assistance, accounting for about seven million patients visit every year. Majority are otherwise healthy women who typically present with dysuria each year. Approximately 20% of women develop UTI sometime during their life time. Above Age 50, the incidence of UTI is similar in men and women.
UTI encompasses both asymptomatic microbial colonization of the urine and symptomatic infection with microbial invasion and inflammation of urinary tract structures. Microbiologically, growth of more than 105 colony forming unit (cfu) /mL from a properly collected midstream urine samples indicates infection. However, a smaller number of bacteria (102 -104/mL) may signify infection in specimen from suprapubic aspiration, catheter samples and immune-compromised patients. The etiology of UTI and the antimicrobial susceptibility of urinary pathogens in both the community and hospitals have been changing, and in recent years’ antibiotic resistance has become a major problem worldwide due to several factors related to the genetic nature of the organisms and selective antimicrobial pressure in humans and animals.
Drug resistance is a large and growing problem in infection that accounts for most of Africa’s disease burden e.g. malaria, TB, HIV, respiratory and diarrheal diseases. Currently, the prevalent pathogens of UTI have been resistant to most chemotherapeutic agents making antimicrobial susceptibility highly unpredictable without laboratory support. These would have profound impact on future management of infection with these drugs. Furthermore, prevalence of the urinary pathogens and their susceptibility reactions to antibiotics differ from places to places with time. It is essential to know the current trends of UTI in these two places to ease diagnosis and thus establish the suitable antimicrobial agents for such infections in order to facilitate quick recovery, prevent/minimise complications of antimicrobial resistance.
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