The potential for the double risk of rabies and antimicrobial resistance in a high rabies endemic setting: detection of antibiotic resistance in bacterial isolates from infected dog bite wounds in Uganda

• Published in: Antimicrobial resistance & infection control Vol. 11; no. 1; p. 142
• Main Authors: Kisaka, Stevens, Makumbi, Fredrick E, Majalija, Samuel, Muwanga, Moses, Thumbi, S M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 13.11.2022; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Abscesses; Anaerobic bacteria; Animal bites; Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology; Anti-Bacterial Agents - therapeutic use; Antibacterial agents; Antibiotic resistance; Antibiotics; Antimicrobial agents; Antimicrobial resistance; Antimicrobials; Bacteria; Bacteriology; Biochemical tests; Bites and stings; Care and treatment; Cross-Sectional Studies; Data collection; Disease control; Disease prevention; Dog bite wound; Dogs; Drug resistance; Drug resistance in microorganisms; Drug Resistance, Bacterial; Gram-Positive Bacteria; Health facilities; Households; Humans; Immunization; Laboratories; Metronidazole; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Oxacillin; Pets; Post-expsoure treatment; Rabies; Rabies - drug therapy; Rabies - epidemiology; Staphylococcal Infections - drug therapy; Staphylococcus aureus; Staphylococcus infections; Uganda - epidemiology; Wound infection; Wounds and injuries; Uganda; Kampala Uganda; Post-expsoure treatment; Wound infection; Antimicrobial resistance; Antimicrobials; Dog bite wound; Rabies
• ISSN: 2047-2994; 2047-2994
• DOI: 10.1186/s13756-022-01181-0

Post-exposure treatment for dog bites in humans aims at alleviating the risk of rabies and promoting wound healing. Wound healing may be complicated by bacteria. This study identified the different bacteria and their antibiotic susceptibilities in infected dog bite wounds (DBWs) in Uganda. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 376 dog bite patients. Wound swabs from patients with infected DBWs were collected and inoculated into recommended media. They were cultured for both aerobic and anaerobic bacteria. All isolated bacteria were identified based on colony characteristics, gram stain, and standard biochemical tests. Molecular identification was performed for strains that were resistant to three or more antibiotics. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was conducted using the disc diffusion method following the modified Kirby-Bauer method. The data were analysed using Stata version 15 software. Approximately half of the patients (52.9%, 199/376) presented with infected wounds. Majority of the swabs (84.4%, 168/199) were culture positive, and yielded a total of 768 isolates where about half (52.9%, 406/768) were gram positive bacteria, and about two-thirds (64.6%, 496/768) were recovered from category II wounds. Among the gram positive bacteria, 339 (83.5%) were aerobes where Staphylococcus aureus (103, 30.4%), Coagulase-negative staphylococci (68, 20.1%), and Corynebacterium spp (33, 9.7%) had the highest prevalence. For the 362 Gram negative isolates, 217 (59.9%) were aerobes and the commonest isolates were P. maltocida (64, 29.5%), Capnocytophaga canimorsus (36, 16.6%) and P. canis (26, 12.0%). Gram-positive isolates were resistant to metronidazole (93.6%), oxacillin (68.5%), ceftriaxone (14.6%) and amoxicillin/clavulanic acid (14.0%). Gram negative isolates were resistant to metronidazole (100%), ampicillin (30.7%), oxacillin (29.3%), and doxycycline (22.9%). Multidrug resistance was in 105 (29.0%) and 121/406 (29.8%) of the gram-negative and gram-positive isolates, respectively. All gram-positive isolates were susceptible to vancomycin and ciprofloxacin. Infection rates of DBWs in Uganda are high and the dominant bacterial isolates are Staphylococcus aureus, Pasteurella spps, and Capnocytophaga canimorsus. Multidrug resistance to commonly used antibiotics is high. The recommendation in the Uganda Clinical Guidelines to use metronidazole in the management of DBWs should be reviewed. DBWs should be enlisted for routine antimicrobial resistance surveillance and rational use of antimicrobial agents should be promoted.