Prevalence of Resistance Genes Gyr B, Ade-B and NDM-1 in Acinetobacter baumannii from Asthmatic Children

Abstract

Background: Acinetobacter baumannii is an opportunistic pathogen associated with hospital acquired infections in AL-Zahraa Educational Hospital in Najaf, Iraq. All samples are being collated during the period from November 2024 to the April 2025 including 250 clinical samples from sputum collected from Asthmatic childhood patients with respiratory infections in Najaf/ Iraq. The present study is designed to detect Gyrase B, AdeB and NDM-1, genes strain. Aim of study: To isolate and identify bacterial species isolated from sputum samples of children with asthma and respiratory infections for the purpose of determining the bacterial types associated with or contributing to asthma conditions. As well as to perform molecular detection of housekeeping genes and antibiotic resistance genes such as (NDM-1), which are known to play a major role in carbapenem resistance in Acinetobacter baumannii, also to identify the housekeeping gene (gyrB and Ade-B), and use it as a molecular reference for bacterial identification and comparative genetic analysis among isolates. Results:Thirty-six of A. baumannii were diagnosed using the VITEK system and molecular detection (PCR) revealed that most isolates of A. baumannii were positive results to the gyrB gene and Ade-B gene (36/36, 100%). The specific primer (gyrB) gene for A. baumannii bacteria was designed in this study by using bioinformatics programs with NCBI website. NDM-1 gene was positive result in 42% of isolates. Conclusion: Presence of multidrug-resistant A. baumannii in childhood asthma patients, with detection of key resistance genes (Ade-B, NDM-1, and gyrB). These findings highlight the serious treatment challenges and the importance of molecular diagnostics and antimicrobial stewardship.