Prevalence of plasmid-mediated AmpC β-lactamases among Enterobacteriaceae in Algiers hospitals

The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and diversity of plasmid-mediated AmpC cephalosporinases (PAcBLs) in clinical isolates of Enterobacteriaceae collected between 2003 and 2007 from three Algiers hospitals. Antibiograms were determined on Mueller–Hinton agar plates using the disk diffusion method, and minimum inhibitory concentrations were determined by Etest. Isolates resistant to cefoxitin or ceftazidime were screened for blaCMY, blaDHA, blaFOX and blaACC as well as extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) genes by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). PCR products were sequenced by the Sanger method. Plasmid incompatibility grouping was conducted by PCR-based replicon typing. The prevalence of PAcBLs was 2.18% (11/505), comprising 8 CMY-2 and 3 DHA-1 enzymes. CTX-M-15 was co-produced with CMY-2 in three isolates and with DHA-1 in one isolate; the two remaining DHA-1-producers co-expressed SHV-12 ESBL. This is the first report of plasmid-mediated AmpC from Algeria, with the first detection of DHA-1 in Enterobacter cloacae.