Antibiotic resistance in Sudan: assessing the knowledge and practices of healthcare workers in Khartoum.

Background: Antibiotic resistance (ABR) is a major public health issue, associated with increased patient morbidity and mortality globally, with significantly higher rates in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Assessment of contextual factors, such as information, education, infrastructure and regulations are important for developing local solutions against ABR. Objectives: To determine the knowledge and practices of healthcare workers (HCWs) towards ABR in hospitals in Sudan. Materials and methods: A survey was conducted in three different hospitals in Khartoum, Sudan from February to December 2020. HCWs of different specialties and expertise were invited to participate. Data were descriptively analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Results: ABR was identified as a big challenge by 89% of 345 HCWs who participated. The results show that 79% of doctors don't rely on the clinical microbiology laboratory (CML) results for antibiotic prescription or clinical decision-making. Sixty percent of HCWs agreed there are infection prevention and control (IPC) guidelines in their hospital, but 74% of them don't have access to them, and infrequently receive relevant IPC training. Furthermore, HCWs obtain ABR information from other colleagues informally, not through local data or reports. Conclusions: Despite adequate knowledge of ABR locally, there are significant contextual technical challenges facing HCWs in Sudan, such as availability of policies and accurate data from CMLs. The results indicate a poor link between HCWs and the CMLs for infection management and it is essential to improve communication between the different hospital departments with regard to ABR transmission, and ensure the effectiveness of local IPC policies based on locally available data.

Klebsiella pneumonia in Sudan: Multidrug Resistance, Polyclonal Dissemination, and Virulence.

The emergence and global expansion of hyper-virulent and multidrug resistant (MDR) Klebsiella pneumoniae is an increasing healthcare threat worldwide. The epidemiology of MDR K. pneumoniae is under-characterized in many parts of the world, particularly Africa. In this study, K. pneumoniae isolates from hospitals in Khartoum, Sudan, have been whole-genome sequenced to investigate their molecular epidemiology, virulence, and resistome profiles. Eighty-six K. pneumoniae were recovered from patients in five hospitals in Khartoum between 2016 and 2020. Antimicrobial susceptibility was performed by disk-diffusion and broth microdilution. All isolates underwent whole genome sequencing using Illumina MiSeq; cgMLST was determined using Ridom SeqSphere+, and 7-loci MLST virulence genes and resistomes were identified. MDR was observed at 80%, with 35 isolates (41%) confirmed carbapenem-resistant. Thirty-seven sequence types were identified, and 14 transmission clusters (TC). Five of these TCs involved more than one hospital. Ybt9 was the most common virulence gene detected, in addition to some isolates harbouring iuc and rmp1. There is a diverse population of K. pneumoniae in Khartoum hospitals, harbouring multiple resistance genes, including genes coding for ESBLs, carbapenemases, and aminoglycoside-modifying enzymes, across multiple ST's. The majority of isolates were singletons and transmissions were rare.

Multiclonal spread of Klebsiella pneumoniae across hospitals in Khartoum, Sudan.

OBJECTIVES: Multidrug-resistant (MDR) Klebsiella pneumoniae is increasing worldwide with poorly characterised epidemiology in many parts of the world, particularly in Africa. This study aimed to investigate the molecular epidemiology of K. pneumoniae, to identify the diversity of sequence types (ST), and to detect carbapenem resistance genes in major regional hospitals in Khartoum, Sudan. METHODS: Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates (n = 117) were cultured from four hospitals in Khartoum, from April 2015 to October 2016. The isolates were characterised by sequencing of 16S-23S rDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region. Molecular epidemiology was determined by multilocus sequence typing (MLST), and analysed by maximum likelihood phylogeny (PhyML). Antimicrobial susceptibility was determined by disk diffusion. Isolates phenotypically resistant to carbapenem were screened for carbapenemase genes: blaNDM, blaOXA48, blaIMP, blaVIM and blaGES by PCR. RESULTS: ITS sequencing confirmed the 117 isolates as K. pneumoniae. MLST revealed 52 different STs grouped in four distinct clusters by PhyML. All isolates were MDR, and carbapenemase-producing K. pneumoniae (CP-KP) isolates accounted for 44/117 (37.6%) mostly harbouring blaNDM (28/44) and blaOXA-48 (7/44), with several isolates harbouring multiple genes. CONCLUSION: MDR and CP-KP K. pneumoniae is widespread in Khartoum hospitals, with a diverse population of 52 STs clustering in four major lineages. There is an urgent need for systematic epidemiological studies of drug-resistant infections across all healthcare institutions in Sudan to inform local infection prevention and control strategies.

Comparing conventional, biochemical and genotypic methods for accurate identification of Klebsiella pneumoniae in Sudan.

Klebsiella pneumoniae is recognized as one of the most important healthcare-associated pathogens worldwide due to its tendency to develop antibiotic resistance and cause fatal outcomes. Bacterial identification methods such as culture and biochemical tests are routinely used with limited accuracy in many low- and middle-income countries, including Sudan. The aim of this study was to test the accuracy of identification of K. pneumoniae in Khartoum, Sudan. Two hundred and fifty K. pneumoniae isolates were collected and identified using conventional phenotypic methods, biochemically using API 20E and genotypically by amplification of 16S-23S rDNA and sequencing of rpoB, gapA and pgi. Only 139 (55.6 %) of the isolates were confirmed as K. pneumoniae genotypically by PCR and 44.4 % were identified as non- K. pneumoniae . The results demonstrate that the identification panels used by the hospitals were inaccurately identifying K. pneumonia and led to overestimation of the prevalence of this organism. The current identification methods used in Khartoum hospitals are highly inaccurate, and therefore we recommend the use of a comprehensive biochemical panel or molecular methods, when possible, for accurate identification of K. pneumoniae .