UreC and ZapA virulence genes amplification in clinical specimen of Proteus mirabilis in Bayelsa state, Nigeria

Background and objective: Proteus mirabilis is part of the Enterobacteriaceae family, Gram negative bacterium which typically lives in the human gut, which means when it causes illness it can be a serious bloodstream infection, urinary tract infection or disseminated infection. UreC and ZapA virulent genes constitute the major pathogenicity of this organism as well as its resistance to antibiotics. This study was carried out to detect the presence of UreC and ZapA genes in Proteus mirabilis isolates sourced from Federal Medical Centre and Niger Delta University teaching hospital in Bayelsa State. Materials and methods: A total of one hundred and forty (140) clinical samples were collected from Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Yenagoa and Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital (NDUTH) Okolobiri, Bayelsa State. Of the 140 samples collected, 64(45.7%) were from males while 76(54.3%) were from females. The samples were Urine, Sputum, High vaginal swab, Urethral swab, Ear swab and Wound swab. The samples were inoculated in different laboratory media and incubated at 37°C for 48 hours. Morphological, cultural, biochemical characteristics and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) technique were noted appropriately. Means and corresponding standard deviations were calculated for continuous data while proportions, along with the 95% confidence intervals, were calculated for categorical data. Results: A total of 81 bacterial isolates were obtained from these samples, of which 17(20.9%), 22(27.2%), 8(10.0%), 10(12.3%) and 24(29.6%) were Proteus mirabilis , Escherichia coli , Pseudomonas aeruginosa , Klebsiella pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus respectively. Fifteen (15) out of the 17(20.9%) P. mirabilis isolates were subjected to single-plex PCR amplification using specific primers after extraction of bacterial DNA from the samples. Out of the 15 samples, 14(93.3%) were positive for UreC gene while 15(100%) were positive to ZapA gene. Conclusion : The present study revealed that virulent genes-UreC and ZapA are highly present in P. mirabilis isolates obtained from clinical specimens from FMC and NDUTH in Bayelsa state, thus making them more pathogenic and resistant to antibiotics curing effect.