High Prevalence of Carbapenemase-Producing Enterobacteriaceae among Hospitalized Children in Luanda, Angola

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of carbapenemase-producingEnterobacteriaceaein Luanda, Angola. A total of 157 rectal samples were collected from children visiting a pediatric hospital in Luanda in March 2015. Fifty-seven imipenem-nonsusceptible enterobacterial isolates were recovered, most of which were non-clonally related. TheblaOXA-181(50/57) andblaNDM-1(7/57) carbapenemase genes were identified. Notably, OXA-181-producingEscherichia coliisolates rarely coproduced extended-spectrum β-lactamases and consequently remained susceptible to broad-spectrum cephalosporins. TheblaOXA-181gene was always located on an IncX3 plasmid, while theblaNDM-1gene was located on either IncFIA or IncA/C plasmids. The study identified a high prevalence of OXA-181 among hospitalized children in Angola.