Prevalence of Class 1 Integron in Klebsiella Pneumoniae Isolates from Hospitals of Sanandaj, Iran

Background and Aims: Integrons as mobile genetic elements are located on the chromosome or on a plasmid in bacteria. Integrons play a main role in the dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes among different families of bacteria. The aim of this study was to identify the prevalence of class 1 integron in Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates from hospitals of Sanandaj, Kurdistan province, Iran. Materials and Methods: Seventy Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates were collected from Hospitals of Sanandaj. Antibiotic susceptibility pattern was performed by disc diffusion method. Class 1 integrons gene was screened by polymerase chain reaction assay. Data were analyzed by Fisher tests with STATA software program. Results: The highest and lowest rates of resistance were related to cefotaxime and imipenem, respectively. Thirteen (18.5%) out of 70 Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates caring class 1 integron gene. Out of 28 multidrug resistant isolates, 11 isolates were identified to be positive for the existence of class 1 integrons. Conclusions: class 1 integron positive isolates, compared to class 1 integron negative isolates, reveals resistance to more antibiotics.