The frequency of the pathogenic bacteria isolated from different clinical samples in Duhok, Iraq

Abstract

Pathogenic bacteria are still considered the most global problematic issue, and they have a significant impact on human health, particularly the Enterobacteriaceae bacteria. This study aimed to investigate the frequency of the pathogenic bacteria and the related risk factors among patients in Duhok, Iraq. A total of 700 samples (281 from males and 419 from females) from Duhok Teaching Hospital were recruited and analysed. All samples were routinely cultured and identified based on their cultural and biochemical characteristics. Furthermore, the diagnosis was confirmed by using the Vitek2 system. The results showed that the highest rate was for Staphylococcus aureus (31%), and the lowest rate was for Candida albicans (4.4%). The other infections varied in their rates and included 27.7% E. coli, 9.4% Klebsiella pneumonia, 6.1% Acinetobacter pneumonia, 6% Streptococcus spp., 5.4% Enterobacter spp., 5.1% Pseudomonas aeruginosa and 4.7% Proteus mirabilis. Furthermore, the bacteria were mostly recovered from urine (67.1%) and swab (19.6%) specimens. The infection rate was higher in females (58.3%) than males (41.7%). This study suggested that the incidence of pathogenic bacteria is high in Duhok, Iraq. However, it was comparable to the global bacterial pattern with the domination of S. aureus and E. coli.