Prevalence and Antimicrobial Susceptibility Pattern of Proteus Species in Clinical Samples

Proteus is a genus of Gram-negative bacteria belonging to the family of Enterobactericeae. Proteus species are distinguishable from most other genera by their ability to swarm across an agar surface (Jacobsen et al., 2008). Proteus is widespread in the environment and makes up part of the normal flora of the human gastrointestinal tract. Proteus ranks third as the cause of hospital-acquired infections (Stamm, 1999). Three species: P.vulgaris, P. mirabilis, and P. penneri are opportunistic human pathogens (Guentzel, 1996). Proteus species are the major cause of diseases acquired outside the hospital, where many of these diseases eventually require hospitalization (De Champs et al., 2000). Proteus species, particularly P. Mirabilis, is believed to be the most common cause of infection-related kidney stone, one of the most serious complications of unresolved or recurrent bacteruria (Coker et al., 2000). P. mirabilis has been implicated in meningitis, empyema, osteomyelitis and gastroenteritis. Also, it frequently causes nosocomial infections of the urinary tract (46%), International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 5 Number 4 (2016) pp. 962-968 Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com