BackgroundPhysicians depend on reliable information on the local epidemiology of infection and antibiotic resistance rates to guide empiric treatment in critically ill patients. As these data are scarce for Central Africa, we performed a retrospective analysis of microbiological findings from a secondary care hospital in Gabon.MethodsMicrobiological reports from 2009 to 2012 were used to assess the non-susceptibility rates of the three most common isolates from six major types of infections (bloodstream, ear-eye-nose-throat, surgical site, skin and soft tissue, urinary tract and wound infection).ResultsA high diversity of pathogens was found, but Staphylococcus aureus was predominant in the majority of infections. Overall, the three most prevalent pathogens in children were S. aureus (33.7%), Streptococcus pyogenes (8.1%) and Escherichia coli (4.5%) and in adults S. aureus (23.5%), E. coli (15.1%) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (7.4%). In total, 5.8% (n = 19) of all S. aureus isolates were methicillin resistant. The proportion of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) producing Enterobacteriaceae was 15.4% (n = 78), 49.4% of all K. pneumoniae were ESBL-producer (n = 42).ConclusionThe high diversity of potential pathogens and high resistance rates in Gram-negative bacteria challenge a rational empiric use of antibiotics. Countrywide continuous sentinel surveillance is therefore urgently needed.

BackgroundA main export market for chicken meat from industrialized countries is sub-Saharan Africa. We hypothesized that antibiotic resistant bacteria could be exported to developing countries through chicken meat trade. The objective was to investigate the occurrence and molecular types of ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae and Staphylococcus aureus in chicken meat in Gabon and to assess their dissemination among humans.ResultsFrozen chicken meat samples imported from industrialized countries to Gabon (n = 151) were screened for ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae and S. aureus. Genotypes and resistance genes (SHV, TEM, CTX-M, CMY-2) of isolates from meat were compared with isolates derived from humans.The contamination rate per chicken part (i. e. leg, wing) with ESBL-producing Escherichia coli (ESBL E. coli, no other ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae were found) and S. aureus was 23% and 3%, respectively. The beta-lactamase CTX-M 1 was predominant in ESBL E. coli from meat samples but was not found in isolates from cases of human colonization or infection. S. aureus belonging to spa type t002 (multilocus sequence type ST5) were found both in chicken meat and humans.ConclusionThere is a risk to import ESBL E. coli to Gabon but molecular differences between isolates from humans and chicken meat argue against a further dissemination. No MRSA isolate was detected in imported chicken meat.

Evaluation of a syndromic panel polymerase chain reaction (spPCR) assay for the diagnosis of device associated bone and joint infections (BJI), International