Multiresistance to carbapenems by production of Verona integron-encoded metallo-β-lactamase (VIM) -type carbapenemases in Gram-negative bacilli isolated at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Tengandogo (CHU-T) and the Hôpital Saint Camille de Ouagadougou (HOSCO) in Burkina Faso

Background: The production of metallo-beta-lactamases (MBL) such as VIM (Verona integron-encoded metallo-β-lactamase), IMP (Imipenem-resistant Pseudomonas) and NDM (New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase) in Gram-negative bacilli (GNB) resistant to carbapenems is a real concern for clinicians, given the therapeutic impasses involved. However, the existence of resistance genes encoding these enzymes is virtually undocumented in Burkina Faso. Aim: To genotypically demonstrate carbapenem resistance through the production of VIM-type carbapenemases in GNB strains collected at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Tengandogo (CHU-T) and the Hôpital Saint Camille de Ouagadougou (HOSCO) in Burkina Faso. Methods: In this study, the resistance profile of 158 strains of GNB to imipenem, meropenem, ertapenem, doripenem and aztreonam was determined using the disc diffusion method. Resistant strains were analyzed by conventional PCR to detect blaVIM using specific primers. Results: Of 158 GNB strains collected, 91 (57.6%) were resistant to at least one of the carbapenems and/or aztreonam. The highest prevalence of resistant strains was observed in Escherichia coli (E. coli) 45.1% (n=41) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumonia) 26.5% (n=24), which are the majority species. The blaVIM gene was detected in only 7 resistant strains (7.7%), including 3.3% (n=3/91) of E. coli, and 1.1% (n=1/91) of each of the species Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa), Klebsiella oxytoca (K. oxytoca), Proteus mirabilis (P. mirabilis) and Serratia marcescens (S. marcescens). Conclusion: This study established the existence of blaVIM gene, which is involved in the resistance of GNB to carbapenems through the production of VIM-type enzymes at CHU-T and HOSCO in Burkina Faso.