Prevalence of Metallo-beta Lactamase (MBL) Producing Pseudomonas Spp. and Acinetobacter Spp. in a Tertiary Care Hospital in India

Objective: Gram-negative bacteria with acquired metallo-beta lactamases production have been increasingly reported in some countries, necessitating their detection. We determined the occurrence of acquired metallo-beta lactamases (MBL) producing bacteria in our teaching hospital.

Method: The method employed was a rapid technique using a disk of imipenem plus 750 microg of EDTA, on Mueller-Hinton plate which was supplemented with 70 microg/ml of zinc sulfate, to differentiate MBL producing Pseudomonads and Acinetobacter.

Result: Out of 200 isolates tested, 7.5% of our Pseudomonads and Acinetobacter were shown to be MBL producers.

Conclusions: Though MBL prevalence is still low in our hospital set up, screening for MBL among Pseudomonas and Acinetobacter isolates should be routinely done in laboratory.