Prevalence of Klebsiella pneumoniae and Acinetobacter baumannii in Urine Samples of Pregnant Women in South-East, Nigeria

Background: Pregnancy induces so many changes in the woman’s body that likely predisposes them to Klebsiella pneumoniae and Acinetobacter baumannii which causes Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs).

Aims: To determine the prevalence of Klebsiella pneumoniae and Acinetobacter baumannii in urine samples of pregnant women attending ante-natal clinics at three health institutions within the study area.

Study Design: This study was a descriptive cross-sectional study.

Place and Duration of Study: Department of Microbiology Federal University Teaching Hospital, Owerri, Teaching Hospital Orlu and General Hospital Okigwe, Imo State between October 2021 and February 2022.

Methodology: Urine samples were collected aseptically from 408 pregnant women between 18-45 years and analyzed by culturing onto the surface of freshly prepared MacConkey and Chromogenic agar plates for the isolation of Klebsiella pneumoniae and Acinetobacter baumannii respectively and confirmed by appropriate biochemical tests.

Results: From the results, there was a prevalence rate of 145/408 (35.54%) for both isolates with Klebsiella pneumoniae being more dominant with a prevalence rate of 96/408 (23.53%) as against Acinetobacter baumannii that was 49/408 (12.01%). The highest prevalence of the isolates was seen in the Owerri zone with a prevalence rate of 37 (9.07%) for Klebsiella pneumoniae and 23 (5.64%) for Acinetobacter baumannii, respectively. The highest age-specific prevalence of the isolates within the three zones was observed in the 24–29-year-olds with a prevalence rate of 42 (10.29%) in the Owerri zone. In contrast, the prevalence of both organisms was higher in pregnant women in their third trimester of pregnancy with a prevalence rate of 72 (17.65%) and in multigravida women with a prevalence rate of 217 (53.2%).

Conclusion: The results from this study showed that these isolates are becoming more predominant in causing both symptomatic and asymptomatic urinary tract infections in pregnant women, hence regular check-ups and proper treatments of urinary tract infections in pregnant women should be encouraged.