Author(s)

Annicet-Clotaire Dikoumba^1,2,3*, Richard Onanga², Pierre Philippe Mbehang Nguema^2,4, Laurette G. Mangouka⁵, Berthe Amélie Iroungou⁶, Fabrice Kassa Kassa², Berthold Bivigou Mboumba^2,6, Elvire Mbongo Kama¹, Jean-Fabrice Yala⁷, Edgard-Brice Ngoungou⁸, Sylvain Godreuil^3,9

¹Hôpital d’Instruction des Armées Omar Bongo Ondimba, Département de biologie médicale, Libreville, Gabon.
²Centre Interdisciplinaire de Recherches Médicales de Franceville (CIRMF), Laboratoire de Bactériologie de Recherche, Unité de recherche et d’Analyses Médicales (URAM), Franceville, Gabon.
³Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Montpellier, Laboratoire de Bactériologie, France.
⁴Institut de Recherche en Ecologie Tropicale (IRET/CENAREST), Département Ecologie animale, Libreville, Gabon.
⁵Hôpital d’Instruction des Armées Omar Bongo Ondimba, Département de Médecine, Libreville, Gabon.
⁶Unité mixte de Recherche Santé Militaire/CIRMF, Libreville, Gabon.
⁷Université des sciences et techniques de Masuku (USTM), Laboratoire de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, équipe de Microbiologie et Immunologie, Franceville, Gabon.
⁸Université des Sciences de la Santé, Faculté de Médecine, Département d’Epidémiologie, Biostatistiques et Informatique Médicale (DEBIM)/Unité de Recherche en Epidémiologie des Maladies Chroniques et Santé Environnement (UREMCSE), Libreville, Gabon.
⁹MIVEGEC, IRD, CNRS, Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, France.

Background: The increasing phenomenon of bacterial resistance to antibiotics is a real public health problem. The main causes are poor management of hygiene and water quality, but also the use of antibiotics without precaution. The objective of this study was to isolate and determine the antibiotic resistance profile of the different bacteria found in the main hospitals and bacteriology laboratories in Gabon. Methods: 6034 samples were taken from hospitals in seven main cities of Gabon, and analyzed according to the usual techniques. The pathogenic strains were identified by Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization-Time Of Flight Mass Spectrometry. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed by the agar disc diffusion method, according to the Antibiogram Committee of the French Society for Microbiology guidelines. Results: 974 pathogenic bacterial strains were found, including 890/974 (91.4%) Gram-negative bacilli. The systematic antimicrobial susceptibility testings identified 160/974 (16.4%) multi-resistant strains. Escherichia coli was the most represented species. 12.5% - 25% of Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterobacter cloacae, and Citrobacter sedlakii strains were resistant to amoxicillin + clavulanic acid, third and fourth generation cephalosporins. Aminoglycoside resistance rates of 8.5% - 19% were also noted. 4.5% to 25% of the bacteria found were resistant to quinolones and cotrimoxazole. Resistance rates to carbapenems ranged from 1% to 10.5%. 16% of Staphylococcus aureus were methicillin-resistant (MRSA). Rates of extended spectrum beta-lactamase-producing enterobacteriaceae (ESBL-PE) ranged from 2.5% to 25%. Conclusion: This study showed an increasing evolution of bacterial resistance to antibiotics that are spreading throughout Gabon. This constitutes a threat to the health of Gabonese population.

Gabon, Antibiotic Resistance Profiles, Methicillin-Resistant S. aureus (MRSA), Extended Spectrum Beta-Lactamase-Producing Enterobacteriaceae (ESBL-PE), Carbapenems

Dikoumba, A. , Onanga, R. , Nguema, P. , Mangouka, L. , Iroungou, B. , Kassa, F. , Mboumba, B. , Kama, E. , Yala, J. , Ngoungou, E. and Godreuil, S. (2021) Phenotipic Prevalence of Antibiotic Resistance in Gabon. Open Journal of Medical Microbiology, 11, 100-118. doi: 10.4236/ojmm.2021.112009.