Prevalence of Carbapenemase Genes blaOXA-48, blaNDM, and blaIMP in Multidrug Resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae Clinical Isolates from University Hospital Sharjah, UAE

ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Hassan El Sharief, Sara Mohamed Ali, Salsabeel Mohamed, Nours Abbas, Mera Maher, Praveen Kumar, Salma Elnour

 
For citation: Sharief HEl, Ali SM, Mohamed S, Abbas N, Maher M, Kumar P, Elnour S. Prevalence of Carbapenemase Genes blaOXA-48, blaNDM, and blaIMP in Multidrug Resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae Clinical Isolates from University Hospital Sharjah, UAE. International Journal of Biomedicine. 2025;15(4):731-735. doi:10.21103/Article15(4)_OA14
 
Originally published December 5, 2025

Abstract: 

Background: Carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae are globally recognized as priority pathogens due to their association with multidrug resistance and limited therapeutic options. Carbapenemase genes, such as blaOXA-48, blaNDM, and blaIMP, play a central role in the dissemination of resistance.
Methods and Results: This study investigated the prevalence and co-occurrence of these pathogens in 100 multidrug-resistant isolates collected from University Hospital Sharjah, between November 2024 and June 2025. PCR detection revealed blaOXA-48 as the most prevalent gene (66.7% in P. aeruginosa and 65.5% in K. pneumoniae), followed by blaIMP (44.4% and 38.2%), and blaNDM (15.6% and 23.6%). Co-occurrence of two or more genes was observed in over 30% of isolates, and a small proportion carried all three. Approximately one-quarter of isolates tested negative for these targets, indicating alternative mechanisms of carbapenem resistance.
Conclusion: Our findings provide hospital-level molecular data from Sharjah that align with broader trends in the UAE, while highlighting the complexity of resistance-gene combinations. The results underscore the importance of ongoing molecular surveillance, monitoring of gene co-occurrence, and enhanced antimicrobial stewardship to mitigate the effects of multidrug-resistant, Gram-negative infections.

Keywords: 
β-lactamases• carbapenem resistance• metallo-beta-lactamase• infection control
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Received October 6, 2025.
Accepted November 18, 2025.
©2025 International Medical Research and Development Corporation.