High prevalence of antimicrobial coliforms in the studied groups of healthy infants and neonates upto 24 months old in Ho Chi Minh City

Abstract

Antimicrobial resistance is an emerging global public health emergency. The gut microbiota plays a crucial role in the dissemination of antimicrobial - resistant bacteria and genes. This study aims to determine the presence of antimicrobial resistant (AMR) coliforms in 105 healthy neonates and infants in Ho Chi Minh City. The presence of AMR coliforms and their density in the participants from three age groups: 0 - 3 days old, 6 - 12 months old, and 18 - 24 months old, were enumerated by track-plating on selective media. Regardless of age group, the detection rate and prevalence of resistance to tetracycline and amoxicillin/clavulanate were high (> 91.0%). The prevalence of tetracycline-resistant coliforms was highest in neonates group (100.0% [87.0 - 100.0%]) (p < 0.05). Colistin-resistant coliforms were only detected in 18 samples (25.7%) from 6 -12 and 18 - 24 month old groups, with low resistant densities at 1.4% [0,0 - 4,5%] and 2.9% [0.3 - 13.6%], respectively. Our study reported 98.8% of participants carried Gramnegative gut microorganisms resistant to at least 1 antimicrobial, including colistin, with the prevalence of resistance varied from 1.4% to 100%. Studied neonates shared both a high prevalence and a high density of resistance to tetracycline and amoxicillin/clavulanate, although these drugs were not reported for use in these subjects.