Enterobacteriaceae ISOLATES FROM THE ORAL CAVITY OF WORKERS IN A BRAZILIAN ONCOLOGY HOSPITAL

• Published in: Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo
• Main Authors: Ana Beatriz Mori LIMA, Dayane de Melo COSTA, Larissa Oliveira ROCHA-VILEFORT, Ana Claúdia Alves de OLIVEIRA, Nádia Ferreira GONÇALVES, José Daniel Gonçalves VIEIRA, Marinésia Aparecida PRADO-PALOS
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade de São Paulo (USP) 2015
• Subjects: Carriers; Enterobacteriaceae; Multidrug-resistant; Beta-lactamases; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Infectious and parasitic diseases; RC109-216; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1590/S0036-46652015000200004; https://doaj.org/article/3b8332eddf8349fc9c44f8a114e4508f

The evaluation of workers as potential reservoirs and disseminators of pathogenic bacteria has been described as a strategy for the prevention and control of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of Enterobacteriaceae in the oral cavity of workers at an oncology hospital in the Midwest region of Brazil, as well as to characterize the phenotypic profile of the isolates. Saliva samples of 294 workers from the hospital’s healthcare and support teams were collected. Microbiological procedures were performed according to standard techniques. Among the participants, 55 (18.7%) were colonized by Enterobacteriaceae in the oral cavity. A total of 64 bacteria were isolated, including potentially pathogenic species. The most prevalent species was Enterobacter gergoviae (17.2%). The highest rates of resistance were observed for β-lactams, and 48.4% of the isolates were considered multiresistant. Regarding the enterobacteria isolated, the production of ESBL and KPC was negative. Nevertheless, among the 43 isolates of the CESP group, 51.2% were considered AmpC β-lactamase producers by induction, and 48.8% were hyper-producing mutants. The significant prevalence of carriers of Enterobacteriaceae and the phenotypic profile of the isolates represents a concern, especially due to the multiresistance and production of AmpC β-lactamases.