Prevalence of class 1 integrons and plasmid-mediated qnr-genes among Enterobacter isolates obtained from hospitalized patients in Ahvaz, Iran.

Quinolones are frequently used classes of antimicrobials in hospitals, crucial for the treatment of infections caused by Gram-negative bacteria. The inappropriate use of quinolones and other antimicrobial agents for the treatment of bacterial infections leads to a significant increase of resistant isolates. The acquisition of antimicrobial resistance may be related to achievement of resistance determinant genes mediated by plasmids, transposons and gene cassettes in integrons. The objective of this cross-sectional study, conducted from December 2015 to July 2016 at two teaching hospitals in Ahvaz, southern Iran, was to screen for the presence of class 1 integrons and quinolone resistance genes in clinical isolates of Enterobacter spp. In all, 152 non-duplicated Enterobacter isolates were collected from clinical specimens and identified as Enterobacter spp. using standard microbiological methods. Antimicrobial susceptibility test was determined using the disc diffusion method according to the CLSI recommendation. Determination of class 1 integrons and PMQR genes was assessed by PCR. Analysis of antibiotic susceptibility tests showed that the highest antibiotic resistance was toward ciprofloxacin (55.3%), while the lowest level was observed against meropenem (34.9%). Moreover, 47.4% (72/152) and 29% (44/152) of isolates were positive for class 1 integron and quinolone resistance genes, respectively. The relative frequencies of antibiotic resistance were significantly higher among class 1 integron-positive isolates. In summary, our results highlight the importance of PMQR genes in the emergence of quinolone-resistant Enterobacter isolates. Moreover, it seems that class 1 integrons have a widespread distribution among Enterobacter isolates and have clinical relevance to multiple-drug-resistant isolates.