Frequency and Antibiotic Susceptibility Patterns of Streptococcus agalactiae Strains Isolated from Women in Yaounde, Cameroon

Abstract

Group B Streptococcus (GBS), a commensal in the body, causes a wide range of infectious diseases. This bacterium is dangerous for pregnant women and their babies, in whom it is responsible for early neonatal bacterial sepsis (EOS). The colonisation levels of GBS and its resistance profile to antibiotics provide important information that is useful for orienting prevention strategies. There are few data available on the subject on the determination of resistance phenotypes in Cameroon. We therefore aimed to determine the prevalence of colonisation and antibiotic resistance, including patterns of inducible resistance to clindamycin, of GBS in the city of Yaounde. To achieve this goal, a prospective cross-sectional study with an analytical component was carried out from 28 June to 29 August 2020 at the BIOSANTE laboratory and the Yaounde Gynaeco-Obstetrics and Paediatrics hospital. Vaginal swabs and urine were collected from 163 women. This samples were analysed using 5% defibrinated sheep blood agar and chocolate plus polyvitex agar. The isolates were identified using the morphology of the colony, Gram staining, haemolysis, catalase tests and latex grouping tests. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was carried out by disk diffusion method following the recommendations of the ACFSM 2019. The double disk diffusion method was used to identify isolates with clindamycin-inducible resistance. Our data were analysed with SPSS version 2.1. The results obtained showed that the overall prevalence of colonisation by GBS was 37% (57/163), or 40.3% in non-pregnant women and 59.7% in pregnant women. Pregnancy (p-value = 0.019) and earlier (from the second semester of pregnancy) gestational age (p-value = 0.025) constituted the risk factors of maternal colonisation by GBS. In addition, the strains of GBS were resistant to all 16 antibiotics tested. A D test showed that 64.7% of GBS strains were constitutively resistant to clindamycin. We also note the presence of M phenotypes. As a whole, our results demonstrated that the rate of GBS colonisation in this study was similar to or higher than those in previous reports in Cameroon. All these results indicate that attention should be paid to this bacterium in the monitoring of antimicrobial resistance and in the care of pregnant women and newborns.

A Review of the Impact of Streptococcal Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance on Human Health

“…This raises concerns about the use of ampicillin since 1996 in the United States for preventing the vertical transmission of GBS, which could contribute to the development of MDR GBS, especially in Japan [80]. African authors found that at least 55% of GBS isolates from Cameroonian women became MDR [81]. The data presented in the tables are difficult to compare due to some differences in the interpretation guidelines and evolving changes in the various years of the two usage systems, and some authors did not strictly indicate which guidelines they used.…”

Advances in Human Pathogen Control—A 21st Century Challenge

“…A major concern is the ability of the bacterium to acquire resistance to multiple antibiotics, often leading to treatment failure. Djuikoue and co-authors [ 7 ] report a prospective cross-sectional study in a hospital setting in Cameroon, by collecting and analyzing vaginal and urine swabs collected from 163 women, and the results obtained showed that non-pregnant and pregnant women were, respectively, 37% and 59.7% colonized with S. agalactiae. The authors highlight the importance of monitoring this bacterium antimicrobial resistance in pregnant women and newborns [ 7 ].…”