Abstract
Investigating Antimicrobial Resistance Patterns in Gardnerella Vaginalis Isolates
Thasmika Durga* and Nathlee S Abbai
Corresponding Author: Thasmika Durga, School of Clinical Medicine Research Laboratory, College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, 719 Umbilo Road, Durban, 4001, South Africa.
Revised: November 28, 2023; Available Online: November 28, 2023
Citation: Durga T & Abbai NS. (2023) Investigating Antimicrobial Resistance Patterns in Gardnerella Vaginalis Isolates. J Infect Dis Res, 6(S4): 26.
Copyrights: ©2023 Durga T & Abbai NS. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
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Background and Aim: Antimicrobial resistance has increased in G. vaginalis. The aim was to determine the susceptibility patterns of isolates of G. vaginalis to antibiotics and investigated the genetic diversity of the isolates as well as linked the genetic data to patterns of antimicrobial resistance.

Methods: A cross sectional study where a total of n=150 pregnant women were enrolled. Vaginal swabs were used for cultivation of G. vaginalis and diagnosis of BV via Nugent scoring. Genetic diversity assessments were based on the genetic differences in the tuf gene using clade specific primers on a qPCR platform. The antimicrobial susceptibility profiles were generated using the Sensititre™ Anaerobe MIC Plate (Thermo Fischer Scientific, United States).

Results: 17 isolates of G. vaginalis was isolated out of the 150 vaginal swabs. 5 were BV positive, 2 were BV negative and 9 were BV intermediate. All isolates were oxidase and catalase negative. The 16S rRNA gene was amplified in all isolates. 0% belonged to clade 3. The frequencies for clades were as follows; 100% for clade 1, 37.5% for clade 2 and 43.75% for clade 4. Multiple clades were found in 56.25% of the isolates. 15 isolates were successfully cultured and tested. 60% were susceptible to metronidazole and 40% were resistant to metronidazole. BV positive women (5), 20% showed metronidazole resistance. BV negative women (2), 50% showed metronidazole resistance. BV intermediate women (8), 50% showed metronidazole resistance. Highest prevalence of metronidazole resistance was in women with BV intermediate status. All women that were resistant to metronidazole experienced abnormal discharge. 100% of isolates with metronidazole resistance fell into clade 1. 16.66% of metronidazole resistant isolates fell into clades 1 and 4.

Conclusion: This study has shown a link between clade 1, BV intermediate women and metronidazole resistance. More research needs to focus on genotyping to understand the resistance patterns.

Keywords: Antimicrobial resistance, G. vaginalis, Sensititre™ Anaerobe MIC Plate, Metronidazole resistance

Abbreviations: BV: Bacterial vaginosis; G. vaginalis: Gardnerella Vaginalis; MIC: Minimum Inhibitory Concentration; qPCR: Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction; RNA: Ribonucleic Acid