Carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative bacilli resulting from β-lactamases have been reported to be an important cause of nosocomial infections and are a critical therapeutic problem worldwide. This study aimed to describe the prevalence of imipenem-resistant Gram-negative bacilli isolates and detection of bla VIM, bla TEM, bla SHV, bla CTX-M-1, and bla CTX-M-9 genes in these clinical isolates in Egyptian hospitals. The isolates were collected from various clinical samples, identified by conventional methods and confirmed by API 20E. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was determined by Kirby-Bauer technique and interpreted according to CLSI. Production of bla VIM, bla TEM, bla SHV, and bla CTX-M genes was done by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Direct sequencing from PCR products was subsequently carried out to identify and confirm these β-lactamases genes. Out of 65 isolates, (46.1%) Escherichia coli, (26.2%) Klebsiella pneumoniae, and (10.7%) Pseudomonas aeruginosa were identified as the commonest Gram-negative bacilli. 33(50.8%) were imipenem-resistant isolates. 22 isolates (66.7%) carried bla VIM, 24(72.7%) had bla TEM, and 5(15%) showed bla SHV, while 12(36%), 6(18.2%), and 0(0.00%) harbored bla CTX-M-1, bla CTX-M-9, and bla CTX-M-8/25, respectively. There is a high occurrence of β-lactamase genes in clinical isolates and sequence analysis of amplified genes showed differences between multiple SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphism) sites in the same gene among local isolates in relation to published sequences.

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