Assessment the relationship of Antibiotic profile and virulence factors in Klebsiella pneumoniae

Background: Nosocomial infections are frequently caused by Klebsiella pneumoniae. The great majority of antibiotics are no longer effective against K. pneumoniae. The goal of this study was to see if there was a link between antibiotic resistance and the ability to produce biofilms in K. pneumoniae strains isolated from UTI patients in Iraq. Methods: A total of 85 non-duplicate clinical samples of urine, blood, sputum, wound swabs, Catheters swab and endotracheal tubes swab of K. pneumoniae strains which were collected over the course of a year. Identification of K. pneumoniae isolate was done by analyzing colony morphology, microscopic examination, and by performing biochemical testing. Testing of antibiotics susceptibility by the CLSI Kirby–Bauer disk difusion method, and biofilm-producing by crystal violate microtiter plate method as adherence quantitative assays. Virulence tests were carried out, including: string test, haemagglutination, yeast agglutination for all samples. Results: The majority of isolates were able to generate biofilms (78 isolates, 91.8 %).